Desperado's
by Aylingater
Summary: Two members of opposing factions with one common goal, but will they decide to work together? or will their differences force rivalry and friction? The situation gets stickier with a third part involved. Action/Adventure/Love-Story. Enjoy
1. Blood Runs Cold

Hey there, I'll start off with the disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or have anything to do with making it, I am just a fan. If you like my story please check out the author Bakie, as me and him are co-writing a random story too! I was greatly inspired by the story 'Like Water and Oil' by evelynn, so check that out too even if you don't like mine because it's fantastic. Anyway, enough of this rambling, hope you enjoy the story! I'll try update as much as I can, but please read and review with some constructive criticism and future advice.

**Chapter 1: Blood Runs Cold**

It was about midday in Mulgor, when Sharrania set off from Thunderbluff with her new orders in hand. She gazed down at the parchment in her hands reading it to herself in her head:

'_Agent Sharrania Sholla, you are to proceed with extreme caution and not allow any others to know of your current mission. Destroy this note as soon as you possibly can. The only information necessary for you to know at this moment is this…Your mission is to locate and obtain a certain stone artifact of great importance before the Alliance does the same. You are travel to Tanaris, and meet with one of our Goblin intelligence agents for more details. He will tell you what to do next. Do not forget Sharrania: 'It' is signalled with a silver spoon.'_

She furrowed her brow as she read the last sentence, pondering its meaning until her trail of thought was interrupted by a low, gruff voice.

"Something up?" this made her jump a little before she remembered that she wasn't travelling alone, but instead with her partner for this mission, Bronk. He was a Tauren, far larger then she was. He had a questioning look on his mahogany brown face.

"Oh, sorry… I was just thinking what the last part of the mission briefing means… is it some kind of code or password?" Still bewildered and staring at the note they continued on their path in silence. She wasn't sure if she trusted this Tauren at the moment, he was as far as she knew a greenhorn, pun not intended. He didn't seem to pose any kind of threat though, he was a druid, and druids were the least likely class to strike you, and if the shit hit the fan she could always get healed. Her thoughts went back to the note she had in her hands; _'I wonder what's so important about this stone that it needs to stay _this _hidden anyway…' _

Tray Stormcrown stood over the corpse of a felled Tauren, searching its pockets in hopes of finding something specific. '_Damn it, it's not here.' _He continued his rummaging for a few more seconds before returning to his feet and kicking up some of the dirt from the ground in frustration. Despite the Alliance and the Horde being adversaries he still frowned upon meaningless killing, but nevertheless a mission was a mission, and he would not hesitate to slay one if need be. He was looking for someone in particular, who had an object in their possession to prove it was the one he needed to kill. _'Better find some shade' _he thought, examining his surroundings. His skin tended to burn easily in the sun. Noticing a patch of tree's he began to stride towards them, hoping to sit in one of their shadows for some cover from the boiling sphere in the sky above him.

As he took a seat beneath one of the larger tree's he wiped the sweat from his forehead and shut his eyes for a moment, before they shot open almost immediately when he heard something, or someone, moving nearby. He jumped to his feat as fast as he could, which wasn't easy due to the heavy plate armour he was wearing. He brandished his long broadsword which shined brightly in the Mulgor sun. Whatever was making the noise was thankfully bellow him, so if a battle was necessary at least he would have the high ground. He ducked down beneath a rock at the edge of the minor raised ground he was on. Peering around the corner of the rock he noticed two figures. The sun, surprisingly, was on his side as it was behind him, allowing him to see them clearly, but making it a struggle for them to see him.

The first figure he noticed was not unexpected, merely a tall, well built Tauren with a brown hide. The second however, made him pause for thought. _'What's this blood elf doing in Mulgor?'_ he moved his head in, waiting for the best possible moment to ambush the two. The fact that she stood out made it more likely that she was the person he needed to assassinate. The two figures stopped on the road in front of him, he once again peered over the rock he was hiding behind to observe the two. Tray couldn't believe his luck; the Tauren was walking off of the path and into a small cluster of trees.

"Wait here, I need to take a leak..." the Tauren announced, to which Sharrania pulled a slightly disgusted face. The oversized cow moved away from the road and behind a tree. She stood there, and folded her arms and tapped one of her feet. She waited for a good minuet and a half before she let out a sigh. _'What's taking him so long? Do Tauren's take longer to take a piss or something? I mean…they're probably bigger… down there, but does that make a difference?'_ She questioned this as she waited for Bronk. They still had a long journey to go and she didn't want to have to wait around for much longer. She tilted her head to a raised area of land where a couple of rocks were.

'_Ah shit!' _Tray thought, ducking back behind the rock once more. Luckily for him though the bright sun forced her to shield her eyes and therefore not be able to see him. He knew that for his best chances of winning a fight against these two he should strike before the Tauren re-emerged from the trees. He looked down at his sword preparing himself. He was about to jump over the rock when he was forced to stop dead in his tracks noticing the blood elf.

This was the first time he saw her face front on. She was beautiful. Her bright blonde hair seemed to glow in the light, and was tied in a ponytail, revealing her youthful face. A couple of strands of hair flowed in the front of her face, which moved slightly against the occasional gust of wind. Her eyes were glowing green which contrasted perfectly against her light pink skin. Her slightly curved nose lay above her luscious dark pink lips. Through her hair came her long ears, one of which was pierced with one small hoped earring. He gazed at her, thunderstruck by her looks. He had never seen a human, night elf or any other creature that looked like she did, nor had he ever felt this way about a Horde. He watched as she took a seat, obviously awaiting the return of the Tauren. She was wearing dark grey, purple and black cloths, and he could instantly assume she was a rogue. This made him worry slightly. Rogues were deadly and unpredictable, making killing her even harder, as if her beauty wouldn't make it hard enough to slay her.

Sharrania sat there, laying her slim, slender legs out in front of her, examining her boots. _'What's taking him so long?'_ She heard some rustling from behind the trees and stood back on her feet, ready to set back off with Bronk, but when he came out her blood ran cold. _'Shit'_.

Tray noticed the Tauren walk out from the trees, with a crossbow pointing at the elf and a white furred coyote growling at her by his hoofs. _'What the?' _Tray asked himself. What kind of stunt was this Tauren pulling, turning on one of his allies?

Brock had changed from is former attire into light brown leather, and a dark hood over his head to shield his eyes from the sun. He now resembled a hunter instead of a druid. The coyote continued to growl at Sharrania, who raised her hands up slightly to show her surrender. _'Damn it, I knew this guy wasn't to be trusted.' _

"Don't bother trying anything, I don't wanna make this hurt anymore then it has to."

"Why" she inquired "are you doing this." She was planning to make him keep talking till she could think of a way out of the situation, though little came into her mind. _'Shit, I could try fighting him, but two on one? I don't like my odds...'_

"I'm afraid I can't let anyone, Horde or Alliance, get this stone that their leaders want them to on this quest." She noticed the insignia on his right shoulder. This was not a mark of the Horde or the Tauren… this insignia was one she hadn't seen before.

"Wait, then who are you working for?" She asked, wondering to which organisation this mark belonged to.

"Ha!" he motioned to it with a tilt of his head. "Veinhaart". He said this with a despicable smile across his dark lips.

"Veinhaart?" she questioned, still unsure by what or who this was. It suddenly then dawned on her. Veinhaart was one of the Hordes most esteemed generals. Thoughts began to flood her mind. _'Veinhaart ordered this? Why?' _Her thoughts were once more interrupted by Bronk.

"Sorry Sharr, I really did like you, but hey – orders are orders… nighty night." He raised his crossbow and took aim. _'Not like this' _she said in her head, weighing up her options… _'I could run, but I can't outrun that coyote, or that crossbow even, I guess I'm going to have…SHIT!' _a bolt suddenly flew by her head, and Brock was clutching his eyes.

Behind the rock Tray was using the suns reflection from his sword to shine into the Taurens eyes, temporarily blinding him at the exact moment he was about to fire his weapon. The coyote howled, and the whole experience had made Sharrania freeze in shock, dumbfounded. Hearing an approaching noise from behind she saw a warrior, broadsword in hand, charging down. She had no time to react. _'Great, the traitor doesn't kill me, the Alliance does…'_ she closed her eyes, waiting for the lethal blow, but it didn't come. She re-opened them to see the human warrior actually battling off the coyote with his sword. She stood in awe, mouth slightly opened, teeth closed. One of her long, blonde eyebrows was raised high in question.

The Tauren was franticly trying to reload his crossbow. The human made a fatal slash to the coyote cleaving it almost in half, blood spraying in all directions, though mainly on the warriors face. The warriors gaze was now on the hunter himself who was aiming right at him.

"You bastard! Argh!" Bellowed the Tauren in a low voice, as he fired his crossbow, the bolt of which landed in the human's chest, but the shot was deflected by his heavy armour leaving little more then a scratch on his body. Noticing the failure the hunter quickly dropped his ranged weapon and pulled out a small hatchet. "You wanna go, bitch?" taunted the Tauren, eyes fixated on the warrior. Tray merely let out a small laugh, not understanding what the Tauren was saying; as he could not speak the orcish language he was probably speaking. Bronk made a swipe, easily parried by Tray. A sudden grunt of displeasure came from the Tauren as the two crossed eyes. He pushed the Tauren away a step or two with one hand and made his own swipe with the other wich was no easy feat with a two handed weapon. The swipe slashed the Taurens neck with such force it decapitated him. Bronks' limp body fell to the ground.

Tray turned to face the blood elf herself, grinning, when he noticed she had drawn two daggers and was glaring at him, strangely with an aggressive smile on her face. Tray wondered how he could communicate with her but until he could find a way he kept his sword out in front of him. Both stood looking at each other in silence for a couple of seconds before Tray said something quietly to himself.

"Shit, doesn't she know I just saved her ass?" He chuckled to himself slightly.

"I could have handled that myself you know." Tray stood dumbstruck, amazed at how she could speak the humans common language. His eyebrows raised and his mouth opened.

"You… you can talk common?" She gave a slight laugh and nodded, keeping her eyes on him. Both stood in silence again, still not sure of what to do now. Sharrania broke the silence.

"Why didn't you kill me when you could have?" Tray didn't answer for a moment, amazed at how well she could speak the language, with only a slight accent of the blood elves. He thought if he was only to hear her voice and not see her face he would never have thought her to be a Horde.

"Honestly? I didn't see you as a threat." She pouted, displeased by the answer.

"I'll make you think otherwise!" she said. She jumped at him with her daggers. He was confused at first, but came to his senses in time to dodge. She was certainly fast on her feet and almost caught him off guard; he would have to be careful. She continued to make strikes with deadly speed, which he continued to either dodge or parry, laughing a little while he did. She noticed his mocking and made a sort of growling noise. _'For a guy in heavy plate armour he dodges damn fast'_ she thought to herself. "Stand still would ya?"

Tray let fourth another hearty laugh. "I don't think so missy." He continued to duck and weave out of harms way, not bothering to strike back, but then again it began to feel like she wasn't really trying either. Tray got cocky, and letting down his guard stumbled on some uneven ground beneath his feet. He feel flat on his back, and she jumped onto him, not threateningly, but seductively, teasing the human. She lay on top of him, their faces a mere inch apart.

"Still think I'm a pushover?" she questioned him, with a cunning smile, showing her perfect white teeth. Taking his chances he licked up her face, forcing her to jump up in bewilderment, eyes wide open. _'What was _that?_' _Still very confused she took a step back, her cheeks becoming a deeper shade of pink as she blushed. _'This bastard must fancy himself or something, cocky shit.'_

"Hey, for a blood elf you sure are shy." He stated to her, letting down his defensive stance by lowering his blade, its tip touching the floor. _'Man, she is the agent the Horde sent then she doesn't stand a chance alone.'_

Not seeing him as a threat either now, and feeling like things between this human had gotten to close she tried to talk about other things that were less flirtatious.

"You idiot, you killed that damn Tauren just when he was about to tell me what was so important about…" she paused when she realised that the note the Horde leaders had given her stated not to discuss the quest she was sent on. She stammered at the end of her sentence and lowered her head. '_You idiot'. _

"Ah, so it is you I'm looking for then." Tray said. She now knew she had said too much and gritted her teeth. She had been warned by the Horde advisors that she would probably have assassination attempts on her life due to the danger and seriousness of the quest. Tray looked at her belt which had the note with the horde details of the quest written on it. It was the item that identified her as the one he was looking for and she knew she should have destroyed it like the note advised.

"So… you've come to kill me?" she asked him, sheepishly. For one of the Horde's agents she sure was apprehensive.

Tray blew some of the long brown hair that fell over his face. "Well, that's the official orders, but I'm after this so called 'stone' too. In fact there's more then just me after it from the alliance and probably from the horde too."

"Judging from that Tauren's actions it's not just the Horde and Alliance after it." Puzzled by what she meant, she explained what the Tauren had divulged to her, about how Veinhaart, an esteemed Horde general, had ordered her to be killed and how Veinhaart himself was also after this stone, for unknown reasons. They both wondered what was so important about it, and wondered if the only reason that anyone wanted it was because the other did. "Exposing Veinhaart won't be possible, who are the Horde going to believe, one of their greatest war hero's and generals, or me?"

"Well, if there is a third party after this stone, then this is going to be harder then I thought, maybe not a one man job." Tray thought to himself for a moment. He thought about how they could work together to get it, since both had a common goal, but realised that it was simply a stupid idea. Sharrania noticed the human thinking. She was not stupid, and was quiet aware of what the warrior was thinking just by what he had said before.

"Oh no! no! no! no!" She said, shaking her head.

"Well, you do owe me big time; I just saved your life."

"That…that lick was repayment enough in my opinion" she announced slightly blushing. She seemed to Tray to be different to other blood elves. They were usually rather boastful and self confident, unlike herself.

"So we're even then? Well then I guess I'm gunna just have to save your life again, then you will have to join me" Tray said, leaning on his blade. She let out a sigh and folded her arms together. "So is it a deal? If I save you one more time you we can do this 'stone' quest together?" She blushed again, '_man this guy is forward… how can he trust me so much, surely the Alliance must have told him how important it was to keep this quest a secret." _

"Ok, it's a deal. But I'm not going to get into any trouble from here on. Let me make this clear though, me making this deal **has** made us even! So if I see you again and you haven't saved me don't think I won't hesitate to kill you." She said this with an unconvincing tone, knowing she was still indebted to the human. She couldn't say she was completely against the idea of working with him; he was handsome in a sort of rugged way. But she also knew the consequences of such actions. If the Horde even saw her fraternising with the enemy they would probably have her executed.

She looked back up at the warrior examining him more closely. He had shoulder length, straight brown hair, and a short brown beard to match. His blue eyes stood out against the darkness of his hair. His skin was neither dark nor pale, but it was hard to tell due to the red smears of blood still visible, despite his attempts to wipe it off. He was slightly taller then her, although she was not short for a blood elf. She particularly liked his smile, which seemed almost soothing in a strange sort of way.

"The name's Tray by the way, Tray Stormcrown. Life taker by day, heartbreaker by night." He let out yet another laugh.

'_Laughing at his own joke! Ha, he must really love himself' _Sharrania thought to herself. She also summoned a giggle.

"What about you, huh?" Tray questioned.

"Maybe I'll tell you when you 'save' me." She said, as she gave him a wink and began to walk off, looking over her shoulder to see if Tray was watching her leave.

'_That's ok' _Tray thought to himself, _'I like a challenge.'_ He slung his sword on his back, wiped his head to remove the sweat and looked about himself one more time. _'Right, I gotta beat her to that damn stone. My mission may have been to kill her before she finds it, but what the Alliance don't know can't hurt 'em' _He thought to himself,_ 'and besides, she had a sweet ass.'_

He watched as she strutted out of sight, licking his lips and leaning on his long sword.


	2. The Veinhaart Eight

Hi, here's chapter two of the story Bittersweet Blues. I'm calling it this because one of the characters is bitter and the other is sweet I guess, and also because I couldn't think of any better titles- yes, I'm stupid. Anyway, disclaimer: I don't own World of Warcraft, nor did I make it. I have made chapter two fairly fast, because like most fanfic writers I get really into my stories at the very beginning and like writing it a lot more. By the way, any ideas, comments or criticism will be much appreciated. Enjoy chapter two.

**Chapter 2: The Veinhaart Eight**

Sharrania took a seat in the Gadgetzan inn and let out a long breath. The massive journey from Thunderbluff to there was long and arduous but she had finally made it. Despite the fact it was early morning she was in dire need of a rest.

She peered into the glass of ale she had on the table in front of her, resting her head in one hand. She thought for a while about the tiring journey she had embarked on, but mostly about that human warrior, Tray, she had met. A slight smile came to her face as she reflected, but drew herself away from thinking about him too much, _'I'll probably never see him again anyway.'_

A figure in regular goblin attire sat down on the bench next to her. His head and his gaze were kept straight in front of him, not bothering to look at her. She raised an eyebrow in question.

"You the innkeeper?" he asked to another goblin, who replied to him with a nod of the head. "That's good; I'll have one of your Tanarian breakfasts."

"Alright" replied the innkeeper, coughing before continuing. "I'll call you when it's ready."

"May I ask how it will be signalled?" asked the goblin, sitting near Sharrania. This question confused the innkeeper, but Sharrania just smirked. It was just as she thought; he was the intelligence agent she was looking for and the last line of the note that was given her now made sense. She turned to face him.

"I believe it is signalled with a silver spoon." The goblin glanced at her and nodded his head, beckoning her to follow him as he left the table and moved to a quieter part of the inn. They both peered about themselves, ensuring nobody else was listening in on them.

"I'm glad you got here ok agent Sharrania. I'm going to keep this short." He said this in a near whisper, but Sharrania's ears were not only large, but exceptionally good at hearing. "unfortunately we are still not completely sure of this 'stones' location, but tomorrow one of my boys should be back with more information. You must be tired, go get some rest ok, and be here the same time next morning. If any news comes before then I'll find you." Despite his height Sharrania could tell just by the tone in the goblin's voice that he was a confident guy, and no stranger to danger. Without awaiting reply or saying anything more the goblin slipped back into the slightly more crowded area of the inn. Sharrania shrugged, she wasn't going to say no to a break, but even though she was tired she didn't want to sleep either. She didn't like sleeping in places she wasn't used too, since she was wary of those around her, worrying that someone might come in a murder her in her sleep…or worse. She was after all a Horde agent, and if word got out then she would fast become a target for the Alliance. There were always large bounties on opposing faction's agents, so there were always plenty of people up for risking life and limb trying to kill them. Always cautious of this she never trusted anyone other then her family.

* * *

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to summon you all for this purpose, but it is necessary for this assignment to be a success." A broad, dark green orc stood looking out of one of the windows in the melancholy grey room. It was the only real source of light that flowed into the dull area. His angered expression was emphasised as he brandished his sharp yellow teeth and lowered his large brow, slightly squinting his dark red eyes. He was completely aware of the other figures that were behind him, standing or sitting in various poses and stances, but continued to talk with his back to them, showing them only the black, greasy hair that came down just bellow his shoulder blades. He let out a sigh before turning to face them, showing the two thin braided strands of hair that ran from either side of his head down his chest. His face had no beard, but instead prominent stubble.

"Word has reached me that one of my assassins has been killed whilst trying to complete his mission… this… displeases me." The other members in the room shuddered slightly. They knew how he was prone to angry outbursts of violence, and were even more aware that when these happened someone was about to meet an unfortunately painful end. The orc composed himself. "I have decided not to take any risks, and that is why I have called for this meeting. You are my elite. The Veinhaart eight.

To any who had not seen these eight people before they would consider them to be misfits and freaks judging from their appearances and costumes, but any who had said that openly hadn't had time to say much more about them before being silenced for eternity. The first of them to speak was a vicious looking troll.

"Masta' Veinhaart sir, Don' you worry a ting mon… you can be countin' on me." The troll's voice seemed to echo throughout the room in a low, thunderous tone. Previously sitting, he now got to his feet. He was massively tall, even for a troll and his high, dark purple mohawk only added to his overshadowing appearance. He was wearing platinum plate armour which contrasted with his blue skin. "Dey is no match for any o' da Veinhaart eight, hell, I bet even Kraken cud' finish of deez lightweights!" he chuckled to himself lightly, and in reply to this a short, undefined forsaken grunted.

"Watch what you say Roo, you may be big but it's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog… and I certainly have a lot fight in me." If looks could kill then the undead wouldn't have stood a chance against the gaze of Roo the troll, his pale eyes fixated on the bald headed undead. Not fearing Roo the undead would have met his stare with his own, but his eyes were covered by a pair of yellow tinted goggles. He knew that no matter how much they hated each other that the troll couldn't touch him, since he was Veinhaart's chief scientist and engineer.

"Roo, professor, enough!" bellowed Veinhaart, his command hastily fulfilled. The two sat back down, disgruntled looks on their faces. "These agents after the fabled artefact do not understand its power. They have no idea who they are dealing with. They will be stopped. They will be eliminated. They will not interfere with my destiny!" The sinister way he spoke would have chilled the heart of even the most courageous adventurer. His threw a pile of papers towards the eight. They had on them the names and faces of the agents who were after the stone. "Take one of these… find the one you have and kill them." The undead, Kraken, reached to take one. "Not you professor… you are to continue researching the whereabouts of the stone itself. The rest of you get going. Do not fail me."

The seven who had a note in their hand examined it, and exited the room, preparing to embark on their assassination.

"Professor Von Kraken, return to your libratory and examine your research. Remember what happened last time you failed me? Don't make me bring out the Battlehoof."

"Yes master, of course master, your will be done master." He walked out of the room backwards, bowing as he backed out as a sign of respect for his master. Kraken didn't really respect Veinhaart, it was more like fear. Upon leaving the room his face came over with a frown. _'One day it will be I who brings the Battlehoof to you, you ugly green bastard…'_

The other seven reunited outside kitted out in their armour, trinkets and weapons.

"Just got a message from one of our spies, one of the Horde agents is close in Gadgetzan. He's stalling her till we can get there." came the voice of human rogue amidst seven. His words were slightly muffled since his face was completely covered by a mask resembling the face of a demon. It was blood red, with black and white features such as eyes and ornamentations. The mouth of the mask was complete with fangs and at first glance one would think this was a real demon it was so intricate. The odd thing about it was that it covered not just the front of his face, but the back of his head too, making it a full mask much like a helmet. It even had long, fake black hair sprouting out of the back of it. "Mount up; we'll raid it first all together, after all; the lord didn't want us to take any risks on this mission."

"Who died and made you ass the leader of the group?" questioned Roo.

"If you don't shut up it'll be you doing the dying" replied the human. He was know to the group as Multality and had never revealed to them his true name, nor face… that's the way he liked it. Roo laughed, he liked Multality for the opposite reason he hated Kraken: Multality was an exceptionally skilled fighter with a few tricks up his sleeves, and what's more he wasn't afraid to make threats, even to Roo himself. "So then, to the Gadgetzan inn…" each of them mounted their steeds and began to ride the short journey to Gadgetzan.

* * *

Evening had fast approached the lands of Tanaris. Sharrania had gone up into the room she had purchased for the night. She had lain down her daggers on the bed and was slowly removing her armour. The fireplace was lit, and the light from it illuminated the whole room. She was changing into her night robes when she heard a loud noise approaching outside. _'Great, what now… sounds like a stampede or something?'_ She slipped the green robe that matched her sparkling eyes on more securely and tied it around her waist. She approached the window and peered out of it, but what she saw made her freeze in horror. Seven people of varying races had roped their mounts up outside and were entering the gates of Gadgetzan, but this was not what shocked her. It was the fact that she noticed something on each of their suits of armour… the same mark that was on Bronk's shoulder. Veinhaarts' insignia. _Shit, what do these guys want?_ Noticing them entering the inn she locked the door to her room and grabbed the daggers that lay on the bed in front of her. She was planning to escape through the window but as she went to do so she noticed that one of them was guarding the entrance to the inn. _'Great_…_another sticky situation…'_ She was forced to turn around as she heard a slamming on her door. She drew her daggers preparing for an outnumbered battle. She said a silent prayer, hoping some kind of miracle would be able to save her. The door continued to knock a few more times before it gave way to whoever was behind it. _'Here we go.'_

Through the door burst a human warrior with a familiar face. _'Him?'_

"Come on, we gotta go!" he cried, she lowered her weapons, allowing him to take the opportunity to grab her by the wrist and tug her nearer to the window.

"Wait, what? What's going on here? Are you crazy you-" Here questioning was cut short as Tray pulled her out of the window. _'This guy really is crazy!'_ Below them the female human looked at them as they landed, about ten metres away from her.

"She's out here!" she shouted, calling her six associates. Curious to whom the other guy with her was she raised an eyebrow. _'Who's this guy with her? An Alliance helping a Horde agent?'_ She drew a short sword and a shield and let loose a bloodcurdling battle shout.

"GO! I'll hold them off!" Tray pushed Sharrania towards the Gadgetzan gates, whilst he drew that trademark broadsword of his. She stared in awe as he made a couple of strikes; both of which were blocked by the females shield. "Come on, go!" he once again yelled.

"You don't know who you're dealing with boy!" announced the female warrior battling Tray. She laughed as she began to make strikes of her own against him. One of them managed to clip the side of his arm, making a small cut. He ignored the sharp pain and went once more onto the offensive. He noticed how strong her shield and armour was, and adding this to the difficulty of fighting in the dark he didn't know if he could defeat her. He turned and thanked his lucky stars as he saw a couple of goblin guards came charging towards them. They, however, were not aware who the threat to Gadgetzan was and in turn threw two nets hoping to capture them both.

A sudden mysterious nudge hit him, and with such force it pushed him out of the nets grasp before it hit him, stapling him to the ground. It was the blood elf. It seemed as if she had somehow stepped through the shadows of the night themselves to get to him, well that's how it appeared since she moved with such speed. She had heard of rogues who had done similar things but never seen it done in person. _'Maybe she is more capable then I first thought?'_ The movement combined with her tiredness however, made her almost collapse, but she was able to lean up against him for support.

Looking behind him he saw that the other warrior had not escaped the net, and was pinned down by it. There was no time to celebrate however, since at the door appeared another one of their new found enemies. _'Gimmie a break…'_ thought Tray, noticing the elf's sudden inability to run. He lifted her up in his arms, which reminded him of the pain in his arm.

Roo stood at the door staring at the two for a second, before pulling out a sheet of paper which was tucked into his belt. Looking at it and then back to Tray he realised he would be able to kill two birds with one stone, for the face of the note was Trays'.

"Shit." Tray said this aloud to himself, looking back at the elf whose eyes were closed due to exhaustion. He began to run to the steeds that were tied up outside the gate.

"O' no you don' mon" said the troll at the doorway, and drew an unusual weapon from his back. It was a double edged sword, the handle of which was in the middle, between the two long blades at either end of it. Even stranger about this double edged sword was that the two blades appeared to be emitting electricity. He span it around himself and began to sprint after Tray.

Unsure of how he was going to get away with the blood elf Tray began to panic. All of the goblin guards were holding off the other five foes in the inn. He gently lowered the blood elf to the ground and drew his broadsword, ready to engage the troll, who appeared to get even larger as he got closer. The huge troll raised one edge of his double-blade and brought it down upon Tray.

The Strike was nullified by a strange force which repelled the blade. Roo's eyes widened in confusion. He attempted to land another strike on Trays flank; which was also forced back before the hit could land. This is when he realised that Tray and the blood elf were concealed in a shimmering golden sphere of light.

Tray was taken aback by this. He didn't even know what had happened until he noticed the presence of a familiar night elf priest. She had cast a defensive ward around the two from her tiger-like mount she sat on. "Tray, jump on!" she yelled. Without hesitation he sheathed his sword and grabbed raised the elf back into his arms.

Roo grasped his weapon tightly as he strode towards the priest on her white striped tiger. _'You is gunna wish you had'n interfered, elfie.'_ His movement, however, was halted while some rather small shadow fiends summoned by the priest began to strike him on the legs- slowing him down. He could only watch as the human and the blood elf he was holding clambered onto the tiger and hastily rode away. Angered by their escape Roo let out a chilling growl of displeasure. _'I be workin' wid idiots…'_

* * *

The elf priest did not bother to ask about the blood elf that Tray had just rescued, but instead focused on getting as far away from Gadgetzan as she could. Resting in front of Tray, and his hands around her for support, the blood elf opened her eyes and spoke in a low whisper.

"Sharrania"

"What?" questioned Tray, wondering what this meant.

"My name, I said I'd tell you when you saved me again…" Tray managed to let out a small laugh as she said this.

"Sharrania eh?" he said this forgetting he was thinking aloud. He continued to smile as they rode further from Gadgetzan. _'Sharrania… pretty name.'_


	3. The Good, The Bad, And The Stupid

Chapter three is here! Ignore the top of the last chapter, it is now called Desperado's, not Bittersweet Blues… the last name sucked ass. I'm very new to fanfic and this is my first proper story so thanks for the support I've had so far. I'm really getting into this story, and I am trying too make it as good as possible. Hope you like the story, and if you are leave a response and let me know, the support really spurs me on to write more!

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Chapter 3: The Good, The Bad, And The Stupid

"Hold still one sec Tray, I might be a bit rusty." The priestess placed her hands over the wound on his arm. After a couple of seconds her long fingers began to glow with light, healing the wound on his arm completely.

"That'll do great, thanks Xary" he announced, flexing his arm._ 'Amazing, the pains completely gone.' _Sharrania was wrapped up in a blanket by the campfire they had made. She stared at the night elf priest, curious to why she helped save her, a member of the Horde, without good reason too. "Introductions then, I guess. Xary, this is Sharrania. Don't worry about her she's ok… in fact this isn't the first time I've saved her." Sharrania blushed as he said this, embarrassed that the priest must think she was an incompetent rogue. Rogues were meant to be good at avoiding and escaping danger instead of getting themselves into it all the time. Xary looked at her now, and she for the first time saw her face as the light from the fire shone up onto it.

"Wow! Your beautiful!" said the priest, running up beside the blood elf and bringing her face a couple of inches away from hers in order to examine her pink face more closely. Sharrania's face went from blushing to a mixture of confusion and awkwardness as she tried to pull her face away from the amazed night elf. _'How did _this _priest manage to save us?'_

"Ha! Sharrania, this is the very forward Xaryana Nightbreeze. We go way back. She isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but her hearts in the right place." Xary jumped back and gave Sharrania a wide smile with her hands behind her back.

"Pleased to meet you!" she exclaimed, giggling as she did. Sharrania let out a little laugh herself as well. She now knew why she was so willing to help one of the Horde; she probably didn't know the consequences of it. Sharrania began to examine her more closely now too, as the light from the fire now made her visible. Night elfs were particularly hard to see in the dark. Her skin was a light purple in this light, but smooth. Even though the night elf herself though Sharrania was gorgeous she wasn't too bad herself. Her long, loose, light blue hair ran down her back, but did not draw attention away from her face. Her eyes were even brighter then hers were, but instead of a glowing green hers were more like orbs of silver light. Her nose was sloped like her own, but her lips were paler. Her eyebrows were as long as hers were, matching her blue hair, and her cheeks had about three freckles on each. It was not until Sharrania stood up to return the greeting that she realised just how tall the priestess was. Sharrania thought she was tall for a blood elf but Xaryana seemed to dwarf her in comparison, being about a head taller then her.

"Uh, nice to meet you too, and thank you for your help, it is most appreciated." Sharrania bowed in order to present her respects, to which she was answered with a large hug. _'Man, she sure is friendly!'_

"You're welcome!" They both exchanged smiles. "So, why are you two together if you don't mind me asking? I mean it's not everyday you see an Alliance and a Horde working together." Sharrania and Tray both looked at each other for a moment before Tray decided to explain.

"Well you see Xary, we both have a common goal. We're on a quest where…" Sharrania came up behind him and put her hand over his mouth to stop him from saying anymore.

"He-he… What he means is… uhm… we are old friends too, and we were in Gadgetzan catching up and suddenly there was some kind of riot. Luckily you turned up in time!" Sharrania was trying to make up a cover story, since details of her mission were not to be revealed. "Aint that right Tray?"

"Uh, yeah, that sure is what happened back there."

"Really, that didn't look like a riot back there to me, more like a raid. But what do I know?" Xary replied, tapping herself on the head and laughing. _'Phew, dodged that bullet…did the Alliance not tell him to keep this mission a secret?'_ Sharrania began to question this, before she let out a loud yawn. She was still extremely tired but didn't want to fall asleep around people who were virtually strangers, even though they did save her life. There was something about Trays presence that calmed her though, as if she felt safe around him even though this was only their second encounter.

Sharrania laid down near the fire, and covered herself with the small blanket for warmth… like it or not sleep was necessary. It required more energy then she thought to perform that last shadowstep. Tray turned to Xaryana.

"Man Xary, it's good to see you. Don't worry we will get out of your hair as soon as we can tomorrow."

"Where are you going? Anywhere in particular? I could always come with you and we could catch up better!"

"NO! uhm… sorry Xary, but we are doing something together that's a little dangerous and I cant let you be a part of it. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I thought you said you were just having a catch up with her at the Gadgetzan… oh I get it now, you don't want me around because you two are getting… intimate." She questioned, in her sheepish, soothing voice.

"What? No! Nothing like that… it's just that… there are some people after us because of what we are trying to get… you see…" Tray paused, thinking what to say. _'Ah damn, I shouldn't be telling her this…but what's the worst that could happen, she's only gunna forget by tomorrow anyway.'_ Xary looked at him, questioning his moment of silence. "Ok Xary, let me start at the beginning…"

* * *

Veinhaart sat in a stone chair at the front of the grey chamber where he had summoned his eight elite assassins prior to the Gadgetzan raid. His eyes were close as his fingers tapped the edge of the chair, and rubbing his temple with the other. The seven who embarked on the raid sat around a long, rectangular table at the centre of the room. The only light entering the room was the beam of light from the moon through the window, which shone over Veinhaart himself, and several torches attached to the walls which burned brightly.

"An all out assault on the Gadgetzan tavern, a failing to eliminate any of the targets even after an entire day. I'm beginning to doubt the usefulness of you all. I'm beginning to question if you are worth my time and patience. I'm beginning to question why I shouldn't cut your heads off!" He slammed his fist on the chair arm, his anger getting the better of him. "Tactically this assault was a shambles. Nobody is ever to know that I, Veinhaart, the legend, am working against the Horde itself." His minions sat there in silence, listening to his rant. "Now we do things the way I tell you. You find the one you were assigned to kill and you do it efficiently and quickly." He glared at them all, still not convinced they got the message and the importance of the mission. He turned to a door on his right. "Bring in the Battlehoof!"

Sudden, short bursts of what felt like miniature earthquakes began to shake the room. Through the entrance crashed a gigantic crossbreed of what seemed to be a Tauren and wolf of some description. Despite its wolf like qualities suck as medium length black fur, sharp fangs, physic and claws, he still resembled a Tauren in many ways. He had hoofs, similar face features and horns. He was fearfully gigantic, even taller then Roo but much broader, with bulging muscles. It snarled ferociously as it entered, restricted only by chains that ran round his wrists and neck. Two orc grunts led it in, struggling to keep the creature under control with only the chains.

"You peons are replaceable you know. There is always fresh new talent out there for me to employ, so don't think I wont just feed you to the Battlehoof." It snarled with beastly vigour, flailing its arms as it did. Veinhaart, pushing one of the grunts out of his way, took hold of the chain that ran around the creatures' neck and gave it a strong, sharp tug, bringing its face to eye level. The creature ceased to snarl, and even let out a small whine, staring back into the dark red eyes of the vicious orc. This was enough to keep the beast quiet and under control. He released the chain, and tensions grew in the room, the one grunt holding the chain wouldn't able to keep it under control if it went back into a rage. Yet, the Battlehoof appeared to understand the orcs glare to keep behaved.

"Nobody is to come close to discovering my true intentions for the artefact, or that I am even involved in searching for it in any way… so keep discrete. Lord knows I've been patient with you, but any more screw ups and I won't be so forgiving." He said this motioning to the Battlehoof next to him, twice his size and twice as broad and yet half as intimidating at this moment in time when compared to Veinhaart.

Before any of them had an opportunity to speak Professor Von Kraken slithered through the far entrance to the chamber, clutching his hands and hunching his back. Is mouth, although hard to distinguish due to having little flesh around it, seemed to have a menacing grin on it.

"Professor… how goes the research?"

"Oh, fantastic, my liege." He produced a sheet of paper with some notations on it.

"Give it to me!" snatching it from his hands Veinhaart began to scan the writing on the sheet. Kraken simply stood there, glaring at the Battlehoof who he had been far to well acquainted with before. The dark green orc looked back up at his elite assassins. "Good, but we need more. Any other news?"

"Yes sire." Kraken hissed, in his usual snake like tone. He removed a phial of pale, transparent red liquid. Questioning looks covered the faces of Veinhaart and his assassins. "This is a new elixir I have been working on. If my research is correct this should grant its taker with an increase to their strength and dexterity… its affects I believe are permanent… unfortunately so are its possible side-affects." At this last statement Veinhaart summoned a shocked expression.

"Side-affects being?"

"I am not quite sure sire... I haven't tested it on an actual humanoid subject as of yet, for I do not have much of the elixir, it's exceptionally time consuming to make."

"Roo…" Veinhaart glanced over at the troll, motioning him to step forward. Roo was against this idea, but feared his masters' rage far more than the affects of this potion that was handed to him. He peered into the phial, smelling the strong red liquid inside. The scent was unfamiliar. Worried about even sipping the content, he looked back at Veinhaart with a stifled look, and then back at Professor Kraken, grinning with devilish delight at Roos' unfortunate predicament. "Drink it!" commanded the orc general. With a light sigh under his breath Roo tilted back his head and gulped down the elixir. Within seconds he fell to the floor clutching his stomach in agony.

"Argh! Wot be happinin' to me?" sweat began to fall from his forehead, hitting the cold stone floor bellow him. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, before howling out a last shriek of pain and passing out. His body lay motionless.

"Professor?"

"Patience, my lord." Within a couple of seconds Roos' body began to twitch, his skin now a deeper shade of blue. He slowly ascended to his feet, opening his eyes. They had turned from a pale green to solid white, colourless. His muscles seemed to have slightly grown. He scanned himself, as did the others.

"Meet 'Ripper' Roo" announced the professor, grinning deviously. Roo began to laugh menacingly, his voice much lower and thunderous now. He began to snarl like the Battlehoof beast had previously, his thoughts becoming irrational.

"Hey Doc..." said Roo, "Mix meh up anutha!"

* * *

Sharrania woke suddenly, and from where she was laying sat up, feeling a sudden to chill. _'Damn, I forgot…I'm only wearing this damn robe.'_ She took in her surroundings and saw Xaryana, the priestess, sleeping about fifteen meters away. The fire had burned out during the night. Still scanning the environment she could not see Tray. _'Where has that predator gone?' _She didn't want to stick around for too long, if a Horde saw her it wouldn't go down well with the rest of her faction. She wrapped herself in the blanket she had slept in, not bothering to tie her hair back but instead to let it hang loose. She silently moved away from the camp, wishing there was some way she could thank the priestess for her help. She stopped when she heard a voice.

"Leaving without even saying goodbye?" Tray emerged from around a rock, dragging a dead reptile like creature with him across the dusty Tanarian ground. "Breakfast's up!" Sharrania let out a let sigh and shook her head. _'Well… I am hungry.' _

The three set round the newly lighted fire, cooking chunks of the reptiles flesh over it on sticks. Both of the girls were wrapped in their blankets, keeping warm.

"So, I guess we are partners now, huh Sharr?" announced Tray, smiling at her whilst he cooked his breakfast.

"You know I wasn't being serious when I said that… and my name is Sharrania, not Sharr."

"Well it's far too dangerous to be going on this quest by yourself, you saw those guys after you… they aren't gunna stop. You are gunna need me around to save you ass the next time they show up." Sharrania's eyes widened as he said this, looking at Xaryana as he spoke. "Don't worry… she knows."

"WHAT!" Sharrania jumped up.

"Don't worry; she'll keep that secret safe, trust me." _'Trust me?'_ These words resounded in her head. She found it hard to trust anyone, but something about Tray made it seem as if she really could trust him. "Listen Sharr…"

"Sharrania!"

"Whatever. You and I both know that we can't get this 'stone' thing, or whatever it is alone. But together, we stand a fighting chance." There was a moment of silence. Both knew the risks of travelling together… but they also knew the risks of taking this journey on solo.

"Well…I might as well stick around until I can get some new armour, instead of this robe, which you will be buying of course, seeing as you dragged me away from mine when I could have easily held off those…Tray. Tray, I'm up here!" Tray looked back up at her face, realising he was staring at her chest.

"Oh, sorry…" he replied, not very apologetically. Xaryana sat there, giggling a little as she watched Sharrania's annoyed pose, with her hands on her hips and glaring at Tray, who winked at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. Xaryana continued to laugh to herself. _'These two sure do flirt a lot, if she didn't like what he was doing she would let him know a bit more bluntly.'_ She smiled and continued to cook her meat.

"I'll give you guys a ride from Tanaris if you want, on Jasmin." Xaryana stated this whilst pointing to her white striped tiger that was lying down not far from Xaryana herself. She stuffed her mouth with meat, after which her face transgressed from deep purple to an almost green colour. She spat the saliva covered meat from out of her mouth. "Uhhh! That's really disguisting!" A smile came from Tray, but Sharrania was too far in thought to notice. _'I don't have a good feeling about all this…Embark on an important mission with a complete stranger from the opposite faction? Well, he has saved me…twice…but…'_

"Come on Sharr, we can get some food when we get your armour, lets roll." Tray gathered his belongings and moved towards the tiger. Xaryana noticed this, and the young priestess jumped up, letting the blanket around her fall to the ground. This did catch Sharrania's attention. The previouse night was so dark she couldn't make out her attire, but now in the daylight what she saw made her almost burst out laughing. She was not wearing typical white or cream robes like most priests, but instead sported a bright pink and white robe, decorated with light flowery patterns across the seams. A large grin formed across her face as she observed this strange outfit.

"What is it Sharr Sharr?" questioned the confused elf, whose mouth now formed a small circular shape, and one of her eyebrows raised.

"Oh…nothing, nothing…" She said, in between stifles of laughs.

"Great, then lets get going… oh but you can't go out in public wearing that robe, for now you can borrow my spare." Xaryana began to rummage through her backpack. "We are gunna look like twins!"

"Uh, no, no! it's fine, don't worry about it!"

"But I insist, you can't go out like that, can you?"

"Actually, this robe has sort of grown on me." She lied. _'Anything is better then wearing THAT!'_ She was not the most girly of girls and preferred her old dark armour far more then the colourful cloths that Xaryana wore. The three of them gathered up their gear and mounted Jasmin the tiger, setting off on their journey. While this occurred the three were totally unaware of the mysterious figure that stood atop on a hill, observing them from her own steed.

"Hey Sharr, I think we're gunna make a good team, you know, if you leave all the hard work to me." Chuckled Tray.

"Laugh it up hotshot; you haven't seen the best of me yet."

"Maybe you could show me tonight?" Tray replied, letting forth a loud laugh.

"You perv" she said, knowing that he was only joking and letting out a little smile herself. However the same words that Tray had said previously continued to run though her mind again and again: _'Trust me…'_


	4. Duel

Hey guys. Wow this story is getting more hits then I though it would, especially from America, so thanks to my cousins across the pond and please excuse my English spelling of words like 'colour' :) Anyway, I worked out how to get lines in-between sections of each chapter, to make things a bit less confusing. A lot of this chapter's events have been inspired by the show 'Outlaw Star', episode fifteen… I couldn't resist using some of its ideas in my story! Happy reading!

**Chapter 4: Duel**

The ride to Ratchet was not without its problems for the three, having to avoid a number of Horde patrols through the Barrens to get there, but they made it all the same. Xaryana had placed Jasmin in the capable hands of the stable master to give them some time to have a look about Ratchet, and consider what steps to take next on their quest.

"Wow! Look at that. The sea is amazing; it looks like it goes on forever!" Xaryana stood there, looking wide-eyed at the ocean that lay out in front of her, letting the light breeze blow her blue hair across her back.

"She's not going anywhere for a while, come on, let's go get that armour for yah." Tray began to walk towards an armour trade and supply shop.

"Funny story, actually… Looks like I left my daggers behind in Gadgetzan too, I'm gunna need some replacements. Hope that's ok." She gave him a devilish smile as she said this. Grumbling to himself Tray gave a reluctant nod. _'Is this girl a gold digger or what?' _They entered the armour store, noticing the goblin behind the counter giving them cautious looks. Even though they where in a neutral zone people still looked down upon the two factions mingling, especially since tensions between the two factions were growing everyday. Both of them were on high alert, never knowing who might be working for Veinhaart. Sharrania began to browse the goods on the racks in front of her, testing their weight and strength.

Xaryana had snapped out of her daydream, and began to wonder where her companions had gone off to; her ears dropped slightly which showed her mild worry. As she peered around the port town of Ratchet she noticed a shady figure, standing by the start of the dock, who appeared to be looking for someone. All she could make out from him was that he was a skinny forsaken, dressed in jet black cloths, a long cloak that came around the front of his shoulders concealing most of the front part of his body, a black bandit mask and a slick, western style-esc hat. The only colourful part of this fiend seemed to be the glowing eyes which illuminated from his face. Her well trained ears picked up familiar voices, and she turned to look at an armour shop that Tray and Sharrania were exiting.

"I can't say I'm a fan of the colour, but good armour is good armour." Sharrania was no longer dressed in her green night robe, but was now sporting a navy blue outfit, with a lighter blue trim. She wore a black belt, gloves and boots. Certain areas of the armour had exposed silver studs for decoration. "Now for a couple of weapons, my old ones were getting kind of outdated anyway." Before Tray had time to say anything in reply a small, black suited forsaken walked right up in front of him, making him halt in his tracks.

"Tray Stormcrown?" inquired the bright eyed assailant.

"Yeah, that's right… who wants to know?"

"I'm gunna keep this short…"

"Looks like you already have" joked Tray, looking down at the small undead.

"Ah, a comedian…" he replied, in a voice that was extremely ruff and chesty, as if he had a bad chest infection. "Listen boy, nothing personal, but I'm here to kill you…"

"Something I said?" the shadowy black figure merely glared at him from behind the black mask that covered his face from the bottom of his nose. "You one of Veinhaarts' boys?"

"What if I am?"

"I just like to know who I'm dealing with, what's you name?"

"They call me Gin…" They continued to exchange glares, standing about twelve feet away from each other. "I have business with you, boy… I challenge you to a duel… I'll be waiting for you by the Stagnant Oasis, south-west of here at noon tomorrow, don't be late."

"Oh yeah?" questioned Tray, wondering what this guys deal was. "What if I refuse?"

"Then I'll have to kill not only you, but your little friends" announced the forsaken, in a cold, bitter tone. He was fully aware of the night elf priestess that stood a fair distance behind him near the dock.

'_Shit, he knows about Xary…' _"Really? I don't think so… How about we end this right now?" shouted Tray, grabbing the hilt of his blade, but he was forcefully made to freeze in fear. The assassin had advanced the short distance between him and Tray at extreme speeds, and drew a small pistol like weapon from under his long cloak that concealed his hands. The rickety miniature blunderbuss was being pushed up into the under-jaw of Tray, hand still on his sword. It was rare for Tray to freeze in fear, but this new character was quicker on the draw than he was. They both stood motionless for a moment, whilst the undeads' hat that had fallen off when he rushed Tray was still falling to the floor. "You know, you're not bad for a little guy." Pronounced Tray, attempting to hide the fear in his voice.

"I always try to fight fair… "

"That's funny; you don't look like the honest type to me."

"Bring any weapon you can carry tomorrow…I'll even tell you more about this little quest you're on as a parting gift to the afterlife. I'd hate for you to die without knowing the mystery." He took a step back and lowered his weapon from Trays face, holstering it back into the concealed hilt behind his cloak. He slowly walked up to his hat, picked it up and placed it over his head that was covered in long, sick coloured hair. "Tomorrow, noon…"

"I'll be there." The undead treated himself to a single laugh to himself as he heard Tray say those words. _'So this guy does have some balls after all.' _Tray, Sharrania and even Xaryana just stared at him in amazement as he strode off on the road out of Ratchet. Tray noticed that he had left behind a stick of EZ-Throw dynamite, which had fallen out of his cloak, but did not yet bother going to pick it up. Just after he disappeared from view did they begin to regain their movement, almost as if his presence was enough to make them solid.

"Are you ok Tray? Are you really gunna go tomorrow?" asked Xaryana, concerned about her friend.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine."

"Are you really gunna go tomorrow?" Sharrania asked, looking up at the crestfallen human.

"I can't exactly just run away. This guy means business, so he will eventually find me, and then kill all of us. Besides, he knows something about this stone; and that's the only lead we have got. So I'm doing it…"

"I guess you're right, but there has got to be a way we can-"

"I need a drink" exclaimed Tray, cutting Sharrania off. He pulled out a pouch of coins and tossed it to her. "Go get yourself those weapons, Xary, go with her… just spend it all." He walked off to the Ratchet tavern, bowing his head. Sharrania and Xaryana watched him helplessly, thinking of some way they could help, but all he really wanted at that moment was to be alone. Sharrania glanced down at the pouch, which contained about twenty gold pieces. They walked off towards the weapons trader, unaware of a female dressed in light-grey, tattered robes observing them from afar, with a crow perched atop her shoulder.

* * *

Tray sat in the dark Ratchet tavern, and was just beginning his sixth pint of ale. Usually he could handle stress, but today he was trying to drown it away. He downed the entire contents in one. "Keep 'em coming…" he said to the bartender, who was cleaning a glass with a cloth. Within a minuet a new glass was put down in front of him. Tray noticed a laugh coming from the other end of the bar. It was coming from a male night elf, dressed in casual clothing.

"Something funny mister?" asked Tray, confused about this laughter.

"Having a ruff day, huh?" asked the elf, looking up from a bottle of alcohol labelled 'Uncle Ratchets Special Spirit'. He did not look as youthful as many of the night elves that Tray had encountered in the past, looking about forty-five in human years. His face had a small, green beard around his mouth, and slight bags under his silver eyes, indicators to his age. His hair matched the colour of his beard, and ran down his back. This stood out against his pale blue skin. He showed his teeth while he smiled, looking back into his bottle.

"Well…that's one way of putting it. What's it to you?"

"I've had a few of them in my time too kid, hell, who hasn't? wanna talk about it?" there was a short silence while Tray considered the offer, but the elf took this pause as a yes and moved down the bar towards him. He took the seat next to him and placed his bottle and a glass down on the counter, and began pouring the contents into the glass. "So, what's up?"

"It's complicated…"

"Algebra, chemistry, engineering…that's complicated, whatever's up with you won't be new to me, so fill me in…"

"You got a name, elf?"

"Yeah, they call me Shade…"

* * *

Veinhaart sat in his throne, peering down at three of his assassins who were in the room. In front of him sat Drog, an orc pirate whose right hand was replaced by an attachable blade. He was renowned by many as 'the king of the sea'. Also in front of him sat Felinna, a female orc dressed in red robes and a skull like mantle upon her shoulders. The final assassin in the chamber was Jin'dor, a troll marksman with an extremely accurate eye, fashioning light purple mail armour.

"Very good. You three have successfully eliminated your targets."

"Two Horde agents and an Alliance… they didn't pose a challenge my lord" answered Drog, menacingly. One more assassin entered the grey room and saluted her master, and was- in return- greeted with a nod from him. It was the female human warrior who had fought Tray outside the Gadgetzan inn.

"Lady Grace…success I presume?" she smiled as Veinhaart asked this, showing that she had. "Excellent; with the professor still working on further leads we are left with only three threats against my destiny." He lifted up two sheets of paper and read them aloud, "Var'jia, Sharrania Sholla and Tray Stormcrown… they are your top priority. Then again, Multality, 'Ripper' Roo and Gin aren't going to fail. They are my top assassins after all." The others in the room furrowed their brows, unhappy with the final sentence, clearly not agreeing with it. But they would never dare to question Veinhaart; that would be suicide.

* * *

"Sho… tomorrow one of ush i_sss_ gunna die!" said a clearly drunken Tray.

"Yeah, ain't that a shitter…" replied the still sober elf who had come to comfort him.

"Av ya been in any duels befo' Gin…?"

"Yeah, I've done a few in my time…"

"HA! And there ya go, ya lived thru em all didn' ya!"

"Yeah, I sure did… we all get lucky sometimes I suppose. But at the end of the day, kid, it's the guy who has the biggest desire to live who is gunna win…I had something to live for, and so I wouldn't let myself lose, I couldn't…so you have gotta ask yourself, how much do you wanna live?"

"Hell, the guy I'm duellin' is an undead anyway, hic, I'm guessin he gave up on livin' a lo-o-ong time ago…eh?"

"whatever you say kid… whatever you say. Well I better be going" announced the elf, getting up from his seat and leaving some money on the counter as he left.

"Leavin' sho soon?"

"Yeah, I ain't supposed to drink too much of this stuff…good luck in you're duel kid, don't forget what I told yah; 'life is short, so let it be sweet'. See yah around." He waved his hand behind himself and exited the tavern. Shade's words seemed to inspire sobering thoughts into Trays head; _'Wonder if I'll see him again. Well, this better be the last drink…there's a though, what if this is the last drink I ever have?'_ He decided not to dwell on these thoughts anymore, and returned to his drink, but was startled when he heard some familiar voices.

"Tray, there you are!" it was Xaryana and Sharrania standing at the taverns entrance, "come on, lets get you out of here, we rented a room for the night…" They took one of his arms each and guided him out of the tavern. Five minuets and several drunken slurs later they made it to a room which contained one bed, a sofa, a table and some chairs. "Listen Tray, I'm gunna set you down on this sofa here, ok? Don't you worry, Sharr-Sharr's got a plan for tomorrow, and she'll tell you more when you're sobered up."

"Fanks, beautiful. Your sho shweet." Xaryana blushed a little as he said this, while Sharrania rolled her eyes and shook her head. Almost as soon as his head hit the comfort of the sofa he fell into a deep sleep and began snoring erratically. Sharrania stifled a laugh, which was cut short when she noticed Xaryana removing her robe. She gave her a confused look.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for bed, silly." Sharrania realised this, and was wondering if there was somewhere away from Xaryana that she could get changed. It seemed there wasn't, so instead she turned away and undressed in the same room. This made her very uncomfortable; she wasn't used to getting undressed in the same room as other people, even of the same sex. This didn't seem to faze Xaryana, however, who was now in her underwear, searching her backpack for her night cloths. Taking advantage of the time she had when the night elf's back was turned Sharrania quickly removed her armour and was now in her underwear too. As fast as she could she got changed into her green robe and fastened the waist tie. _'Great, that takes care of that awkward situation…'_ she thought, pulling back the sheets and getting into the bed. She lay down, shut her eyes and peacefully began to drift off into a sleep until a ripple in the bed awoke her. Xaryana had jumped into the same bed, leaving little space between the two, their bodies almost touching. Sharrania then remembered…there was only one bed in the room. _'Ugh…maybe not…'_

* * *

Morning had come, and not too soon for Sharrania who had been struggling to sleep all night due to the priestess. She had been quietly snoring all night, along with Tray, and adding this to the fact that Xaryana kept on rolling over onto her the night seemed like one of the longest she had ever had to go through. Glancing at the sofa she noticed that Tray was not sleeping there, but was at the table inspecting his sword.

"You ok Tray?" she asked, exiting the bed.

"How could I not be ok when I saw you two sleeping together?"

"Perv" she said, approaching him. "Don't worry about it, I have a plan, I didn't only get weapons for myself with that gold yesterday…" she motioned to a bag in the corner of the room, which Tray approached with curiosity. Inside was a sturdy shield, a short sword and a pistol like gun. "Hopefully these will give you the edge in the fight if things get nasty."

"Thanks Sharr, I appreciate it." He began to pick up the items, inspecting their quality and weight. "These will do great."

Noon had fast approached the Barrens, and Tray slowly made his fact to the Stagnant Oasis according to the direction that the so called 'Gin' had given him. After a small amount of travelling the oasis came into view, when he heard a voice come from behind one of the palm trees.

"So you aren't as big a coward as I thought then…" it was the undead, dressed in the same attire as he was the day before.

"You came early? Man you sure are eager." Tray said, a blank expression on his face.

"I don't want to keep my master waiting…"

"Then let's get this over with, I wanna depart as soon as possible."

"Too the next life, you mean…" Tray did not react to this statement from the forsaken. The black fiend withdrew the pistol like weapon he had used the previous day. "You have one, right?" Tray took out the pistol Sharrania had bought for him as a thoughtful gesture, even though it was with his own gold.

"Yeah I got one." They stood about twenty meters apart from each other, both with their pistols at their sides.

"Good" coughed the undead, "Let it begin…" both stood, just looking at each other for an entire minuet before any of the two made a single move. Then, extremely suddenly, both of them fired their pistols simultaneously, both flying backwards to the ground. Neither of them seemed to move for a while. The air was filled with smoke from the guns. More time passed, but eventually Tray clutched his side and slowly got back on his feet. He began to walk over to Gin who lay on the floor, looking back up at Tray. Gin's wound was far worse then Tray had sustained. The forsaken merely glared up at the human warrior, his hate and mask had fallen off during the duel. "Wait!" Tray raised his weapon and pointed it at the undead that lay on the ground beneath him. "Good luck, human!" Tray stood confused over the darkly clothed figure, who pulled from underneath his long cloak a stick of EZ-Throw dynamite.

"Shit!" Tray jumped back and hit the ground, covering his head when he heard the explosion. Looking back up he saw that the undead was now but a smear on the landscape. "Fuck! He didn't tell me what I needed to know!" Tray lowered his weapon and holstered it. He held his side, the shot had only grazed him, but cracked one of his ribs. "Well…I guess that old elf was right after all…"

"You're damn right I was" came a voice. It was Shade, the elf from the tavern. What Tray saw chilled him to the bone. Shade was wearing silvery armour, and had a back filled with various weapons.

"I'm guessing you didn't come to pat me on the back…" The elf motioned to the insignia on his shoulder armour. "So what's your real name?"

"My real name is Shade, Gin is just my alias. That undead you killed was my trainee, Haron Spikebane, he had no talent so he died, that's the way it is.

"Right as usual then 'Gin'" shouted Tray, unsheathing the shield and short sword that Sharriana had also got him. _'Hope I can take this guy with the wound I got.'_ The elf didn't bother to say anything more, except give a boastful smile and draw two blades. He rushed with lightning speed towards Tray, who had little time to react. Instinctively he raised his shield, deflecting the double strike that came from the elf. These blows came with such force that he was slightly knocked back. _'Shit, time to play dirty.'_ Tray turned and bolted away, running behind and taking cover behind a rock while Gin stood still, dropping his blades and taking out two crude pistols of his own. He began to fire at the rock where Tray was sheltered, unable to see what he was doing. When he paused to reload from his hail of fire Tray darted up from behind the rock, now with the stick of dynamite that the undead had left behind when he departed Ratchet the previous day. Gin's expression had transformed from one of a sinister smile to a more melancholy frown of despair. Tray tossed the explosive stick towards the elf with a violent shout.

Tray saw the explosion go off where the elf was; a direct hit. Celebration was short lived however, as when the smoke cleared the elf stood there, hardly a scratch on him. _'Holy shit! What is this guy made of?'_ The elf showed him a yellow glowing gem, which seemed to disintegrate in his hands and turn to dust.

"I didn't think it could take a direct hit…'

"What the hell was that?" without answering the elf picked up on of his pistols again and fired, hitting Tray in the lower leg, sending him to the ground. He let loose a roar of agony. Peering back up at Gin he noticed he now brandished a small dagger and slowly walked towards him.

"Looks like your luck ran out, Stormcrown. I'm sorry, but I still want to live…I guess you didn't…" He held the dagger aggressively over him.

"Stop right there! If you want to kill Tray Stormcrown you're gunna have to kill me first! Afterall, he did save me, this is the least I can do to repay him…" Sharrania emerged from the oasis, holding her two new swords in her hands. _'Sharrania…'_ thought Tray, both glad yet frustrated that she had come. Glad that she cared enough to try help him, but frustrated knowing that she didn't stand a chance.

"And I too." Xaryana came from another clearing in the oasis trees. _'Xary, you too?'_

"Well, well, well… looks like you have some good friends here Tray. Too bad they have to die."

"Eat this you bastard!" with this insult Xaryana attempted to cast a smite spell, which unfortunately backfired and resulted in a cloud of black smoke, her face covered in a dark residue. She continued attempting to cast another, but by the time she got anywhere close Gin had closed the distance between them and slashed her with his dagger. She fell to the ground with a wince.

"Xaryana! You'll pay for that!" Sharrania dashed at him with her weapons in hand. Gin turned to meet her with his own dagger, dodging her swing and making his own. The slash sent her to the ground to, onto of Xaryana. Both lay motionless.

"You son of a bitch!" bellowed Tray, attempting to stand but failed due to his leg injury. Gin walked up to him with his dagger.

"You know, it's not much fun if you can't move…so what do you say to a one shot duel?" he now held two pistol-esc weapons in his hands, offering one to Tray and pulling him up to his feet.

They stood about the same distance away as Tray and the undead had in the previous pistol duel. Tray knew he wasn''t going to be as lucky as he had been before, Gin was a far more skilled foe. The same event occurred, both of them stared at each other for a small amount of time, but this time only one shot was fired…Gin lay on the ground, while Tray hobbled over to him.

"Well what do yah know…killed cos of a faulty gun…guess you really are lucky, kid." Tray pointed his pistol at his head, fingure on the trigger. "Slow down. I promised I'd tell you about that stone didn't I? Well I guess I owe you that much. There are certain, rare stones out there in Azeroth, Stormcrown, some far greater in power than others. The one your looking for is the most powerful by far. You saw that one that protected me didn't you? That was one of the weaker ones… imagine how powerful a stone with abilities a thousand times greater then that one could be? You will find out more on your journey… good luck, Tray Stormcrown." With that Gin lay still on the floor. _'Sure, I got what I needed to know…but was it worth it?'_

"Tray, don't think I'm done with you yet!" _'Sharrania?'_ Tray turned around and saw the blood elf stagger towards him.

"Your ok!"

"Me too, Tray…" Xaryana also was standing, and slowly making her way to him.

"Xary! But I thought you two…"

"Nah, he only made strikes with the handle to paralyze us for a few minuets, doing things like that with such efficiency takes great skill and training."

"Guess he wasn't such a bad guy after all..." All three peered down at Gin, lying motionless on the floor.

* * *

Half an hour passed by the time the three had buried Gin. It would have taken a lot longer had Xaryana not been able to heal all of their wounds. She was a very capable healing priest, but not much of an offensive one. They all looked over the grave they had dug. Tray gave a small smile as he looked at it.

"Goodbye, Shade…" with these final words they began to walk back to Ratchet, the sun now setting over the Barrens. They did not know where their journey would take them next.

As soon as they were out of sight a hand burst from the newly dug grave. It struggled to make a clearing but eventually the elf was able to get to the surface once again.

"Damn, did they have to bury me so deep?" he removed the pellet that had got lodged in his concealed leather armour underneath his plate, which had been penetrated. "Maybe I will treat myself to a quite life of retirement now…goodbye, Tray Stormcrown…"


	5. Elishia Silverplane

It's here! Chapter 5 :) sorry this one took so long to get on, I've been busy recently. Hope you have been enjoying the story thus far. Sorry about the last chapter, I didn't think it was as good as the other three, but if you liked it please tell me. I want to know what you guys think is good about my story and bad about it, so I can play to my strengths and lesser my weaknesses. Are my chapters too long, and would you liked to see more frequent, shorter ones? Do I draw off the plot too much? Are my characters too boring? Feel free to tell me, but nice comments are great too, I love the support it really spurs me on. This chapter is shorter then the other ones, hope you don't mind too much. Happy reading.

**Chapter 5: Elishia Silverplane**

Sharrania awoke as the bright sun that shone through the window hit her face. She was at least able to have a good night's sleep, despite Xaryana rolling onto her throughout it. Thinking about this it became obvious to her that Xaryana was no longer in the bed, and Tray was gone as well. Now seemed the best time for her to have a wash, since the other two where out. She approached the bathroom door and removed her robe and underwear, then gracefully turned the handle to enter. As she walked through the entrance she raised her head up to look at the bath…

"Ahh!" she screamed, as she noticed Tray who had recently exited the bath standing there, also naked. Sharrania tried to cover herself while Tray stood there proudly.

"It must be my birthday!" he exclaimed, letting out a laugh.

"Stop looking at me, you idiot! Turn around!"

"You first. It's ok you can look if you want to."

"You're a real freak, you know that?" she said, blushing and trying to exit the room, which was hard without being able to use her hands, as she was using them to cover herself.

"You can use your hands you know, I saw it all just a minuet ago…if it's any constellation I liked what I saw."

"That doesn't help!" Tray continued to laugh at her distress.

"Is it hot in here, or is it just you?"

"Shut up you perv!" she yelled, using the hand that she covered her breast with to open the door and exit the room, huffing and puffing. She was cut dead in her tracks when she saw Xaryana who had come back after going outside for some air.

"Oh my…" exclaimed Xaryana, turning her head. "If you wanted some alone time you just had to ask." Tray came out with a towel around his waist, grinning. Sharrania stormed off back into the bathroom, infuriated and groaning. Tray slowly walked over to the window since it was open and blowing cold wind in. Without warning a black crow swept into the window, startling both Xaryana and Tray, surprised looks on their faces. The crow morphed into a woman dressed in grey robes, her face concealed with a hood of the same colour. Their startled looks also morphed, but into confused ones. She stood, silently staring at them until she broke the silence that streamed the air.

"Tray Stormcrown, I presume?" she questioned, in a posh accent.

"Yeah that's me. Let me guess, you're here to kill me? Everybody is nowadays, so let me at least have a fair fight and grab my blade…"

"I'm not here to kill you Tray, quite the opposite, I'm here to save your life and many others…" she announced. Upon looking at her all that he could make out was that she was that she was a human like him, although how she was able to shape shift into a crow amazed him. He had never met a human who was able to transform into a crow- or any other creature for that matter. Xaryana stood dumbfounded, unaware what was happening.

"Save me huh? Why?"

"All will be revealed in due time Tray, I've been watching you for a while now. That battle with that undead trainee yesterday; there was a reason his shot only grazed you and not hit you in the chest." Tray listened with scepticism, _'well…if she was trying to kill me she would have done it by now.'_ Alright, what do you want with me then. I guess you wouldn't be helping me unless there's something I can do to help you..."

"Alas, I would be lying if I said I didn't need you for something. I feel that together we can help each other out."

"You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours, eh?"

"Something like that. Well I guess that make us allies then, my name is Elishia Silverplane." She pulled down her hood, revealing a dark skinned female, wrapped in long silvery-white hair. Her eyebrows matched his unusual colour as well. Most notably of her features were her eyes, which were so pale grey that they almost looked white. She flashed her teeth, which we like a cats: small and sharp. Sharrania entered back into the room, sporting an angered look on her face which as pouted out in front of her still wet hair after her wash. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the grey clothed woman standing before her.

"Ah, Sharrania Sholla, it's a pleasure" announced Elishia, greeting her with her calm eyes. This calmness though quickly disintegrated into shock, her eyebrows raised high as though she had been it by a premonition. "We have to go, **now**!"

* * *

"Damn you Gin! You are worthless!" roared Veinhaart with beastly vigour at the news that one of his assassins had failed him. His assassins quivered as he released his anger out on the wall, punching a large crack into it. "The professor is closing in on the location of the stone, waste no time! If these thorns in my side aren't dealt with then I want to reach the artefact before they can! Fail me not! Find it, and kill them if you cross their path." The assassins got up to leave when Professor Von Kraken entered the colourless chamber.

"Master, you omnipotence, I bring new word."

"Speak quickly professor." Kraken brought out an orb.

"This, my lord, is the orb of sure-sight. I am currently viewing our specimen: 'Ripper' Roo." Veinhaart snatched the orb from the professor's hand and peered into it deeply. He smiled at what he saw. It showed Roo approaching the Ratchet, where Tray and Sharrania were residing. "It appears that we will be able to see the elixir in action."

"Yes, I will…now everybody leave, you too professor…"

"Yes sire, yes 'you' will...sire, if I may have my orb of sure-sight back so that I may-"

"Enough!" he snarled, shooting Kraken a ferocious glare. "Leave me in peace to observe…the rest of you; waste no time. These cretins are already dead as far as I am concerned. Go and find the artefact, immediately…" They all exited the room with their new orders, except for Kraken who stood staring at his master and grinding his teeth together in order to stop himself saying something that he would soon regret. "Something the matter, Professor?" snapped Veinhaart, who continued to peer into the orb.

"Uh…no sire. It is nothing" the bald headed undead turned and exited the room, furrowing his brow over his bright goggles.

"Oh, and Professor…" the undead turned to face his master, "If you ever even think about saying something to me like you were about to; I will rend you limb from limb." Without another word being exchanged Kraken disappeared from the chamber leaving his master in peace. He returned to his libratory. Behind the door was a vast room filled with many mechanisms and contraptions. There were hundreds of phials filled with various potions and elixirs, each labelled and organised into separate categories. Alongside this stood great electrodes, capsules and gadgets. There were even a few caged 'subjects' who were soon to be, or already being, experimented on. _'Stay calm Kraken' _he thought to himself _'not long now; just refrain thyself a little bit longer…' _approaching one of the caged subjects he unveiled a syringe, which he tapped to remove any bubbles in the concoction within it. Inside the cage stood a human, whose hands were shackled together by thick chains. He was extremely pale, deprived of food and light.

"Stay still, human, this is only going to hurt…a lot" hissed Kraken in his usual slithery, snake like voice, preparing to stick the syringe into his neck.

* * *

Tray had clumsily thrown on his armour, whilst the others shouted at him to hurry up. They stumbled out of the door and raced down the stairs that led to the room. As soon as they left the building a sharp streak of lightning flew by their heads with a deafening roar. There stood the new and improved Roo, wielding his double edged blade that emitted sparks. His white eyes were fixed on the four as they stood frozen at the sight of the giant troll. He began to spin the blade with lightning speed. Dark clouds seemed to follow him, as the sky went from a bright blue to a melancholy dark grey. Civilians across Ratchet began to run at the sight of this devious character; many of them running off to the boat that was about to leave.

"Roo…" whispered Elishia to herself as the two exchanged glares.

"Dat be Ripper Roo now. Step aside, it be dat' human and da blood elf I be needin', not you."

"You two know each other?" questioned Xaryana.

"Something like that. Tray, get to that boat; you have to get out of here alive. You two; help me take down Roo…" Elishia said this as though she though they stood a chance against the huge, monstrous creature who overshadowed the three of them put together.

"I aint gunna leave you to face this freak-show alone" announced Tray, drawing his broadsword. He almost seemed excited about the encounter, which was sternly dissolved from a death glare from Sharrania.

"You saved me before Tray, now I'm gunna return the favour…"

"Sharr don't be stupid."

"GO!" shouted Elishia, bearing her sharp teeth against her dark skin. Tray stood firm, and so she released a small sigh and allowed a compromise. "Sharrania, go with him, now hurry before that boat leaves. We'll be fine." Elishia looked at Xaryana, who appeared worried about the challenge she was about to undergo.

"Enuf talk, time to die!" bellowed Roo, who let forth a thunderous roar, which was answered by the sky by rain that began to fall. His roar was answered by one from Elishia as she transformed into cougar-like animal. This startled Xaryana who stood next to her, as she inspected her with wide eyes. Tray noticed this.

"Xaryana, you don't have too-"

"Just go! I can handle this!" said Xaryana, interrupting Tray's offer. "I saved your butt from this guy before didn't I? Trust me I'll be fine." She was trying to comfort him, as well as herself. She was fully aware of her fate, Elishia would have to be extremely powerful for them to survive this encounter. Without another word being exchanged Tray stared at her for a few seconds, before being tugged by Sharrania motioning him to the boat which was about to set off. They ran across the dock to the ship, when a lightning bolt shot by them, narrowly missing them. Roo snarled at his misfire and began to chase them down the pier towards the ship, which had already begun to sail. Sharrania and Tray made a leap of faith onto the ship, only just landing on its deck. By the time Roo had approached the end of the pier of the dock the boat was too far away for him to jump onto. He snarled at his misfortune, and turned to face the two adversaries's that now stood before him. He noticed Xaryana the elf priestess casting a smiting spell, her hands glowing with light. She thrust her arms out in order to cast it, but all that occurred was an emission of black smoke, covering her face in dark dust, her glowing eyes the only distinguishable feature. She remembered that she was far greater at healing spells then offensive ones.

* * *

Veinhaart roared in anguish as he looked into the orb. "Damn you Roo, you let the agents get away…Well, these two know too much to let them live anyway…" he paused for thought as he gazed into the sphere. "Guards!" Shortly after shouting this command two grunts entered the room, the same that had been keeping the Battlehoof under control before. They saluted their master as they entered. "Kelzagi, Grund'ra, the targets are on their way to Booty Bay…who do we have near there?" Kelzagi, the taller and browner of the two orc grunts spoke out in reply:

"Uh…none of our troops are there, sire…" Veinhaart shot him a displeased glare. "B…but, uhm, we could probably get one of our men down there in time my lord, I think…"

"See that you do. If these two clowns are out of the picture then that only leaves us with one more to kill, which Multality will deal with. He likes to bide his time, but he will get the job done." Kelzagi and Grund'ra gave a final salute.

"As you wish my lord" they said simultaneously before exiting the chamber. Veinhaart peered back into the orb and observed with a lowered brow.

* * *

Elishia pounced at Roo, her claws exposed. He countered, forcing her to snarl. _'Roo…what have they done to you?'_ she thought to herself, remembering how he used to be before. He unleashed many strikes, but her dexterity allowed her to dodge them in just enough time. Just as she dodged one of his blows however, a sharp spark of lightning hit her, making her whine in pain and retreat a few paces. Xaryana took hold of her mace, standing motionless as the rain fell harder, hitting her face. Roo was reminded of her presence and began to walk slowly towards her, barley raising his blade as he saw her as little threat to him. She swung her mace at him, but he merely grabbed her arm with one of his huge hands and gripped it hard, forcing Xaryana to drop her weapon. He stuck his double edged sword into the dirt and used his other hand to grab her by the neck and raise her off of her feet to his eye level, staring at her. Her face changed from the deep purple to a blue as she began to gasp for breath. Roo snickered at her desperation, but this was cut short when Elishia pounced onto his back. Xaryana was dropped and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Ragh!" Roo span around with Elishia on his back, her claws dug deep into his thick hide. "You Bitch! You gunna be regrettin' dat!" The giant troll managed to dislodge the morphed human from his back and reclaim his blade. Elishia returned to her original human form, and they both stared at each other with pale eyes. She concentrated hard on him, looking for any exposed weaknesses.

"Roo, stop this. Don't you remember me at all?"

"Mah masta's will be don'!" he snapped. The rain continued to fall, thunder and lightning filling the sky and illuminating the dark atmosphere with sudden stripes of light.

"Listen to yourself, Roo" she said, trying to reason with him. "Your master doesn't care about you, he is making you do things that you would have never done. He is just using you Roo, don't let him!" The trolls' eyes widened as he listened to her words. He looked down at the weapon he held, and then back at the woman in front of him.

"Right o' not, die!" he approached her, his previous evil expression once again being worn on his face. Elishia sighed, and before he could get to her she morphed into her crow form and flew out of Ratchet at high speeds. A slight groan escaped from the trolls' lips before he turned to the still unconscious priestess that lay behind him. He lifted her up in her arms and began to run out on the road from Ratchet. _'Was dat really her? Was dat Elishia?_

* * *

Veinhaart placed the orb down on the table, and began to pace the room. _'These agents are proving to be a pain…and who is this shape-shifter? They certainly have some interesting friends…I'll have to pay more attention to them than I originally thought.'_

"Professor, Roo is bringing back one of the agent's allies here, have something…special prepared. You know what to do."

"Master, I have just the thing! It is something I have been working on for some time on other subjects in my libratory. I believe you shall be most satisfied with the results." Veinhaart lifted the orb so that they could both observe the elf priestess that Roo had kidnapped.

"She poses us no threat, her abilities are useless. Bring her to me when she arrives, I wish to interrogate her personally, and afterwards do as you will." The undead servant bowed graciously to his master before exiting the room. Veinhaart peered back into the spherical orb and looked at the unconscious girl. _'Now, Tray Stormcrown, you shall wish you had not meddled in my affairs…'_


	6. Facilitator of Fatalities

Thanks for the support, sorry about the last chapter's length; it was quite short and the spelling was probably a bit off. I'll spend more time on them from here on instead of rushing them. As you all know I don't own WoW etcetera, etcetera, etcetera… R&R if you want to.

**Chapter 6: Facilitator of Fatalities**

The ship to Booty Bay had finally reached calmer water after surviving the harsh, ruff sea caused by the strange storm that occurred upon Roo's arrival way back in Ratchet.

"I sure hope that the other two are ok, that was the biggest troll I've ever seen" said Sharrania to Tray as they sat on the open deck at the top of the vessel. The boat carried many passengers, but was not packed with people as many were unfortunate enough not to be able to reach the boat before it set off from the port town. Tray simply shook his head in agreement. He didn't believe it to be true though, he knew what trolls were like and a giant troll could only be more dangerous. Sharrania glanced at him, biting her lip and lowering her eyebrows. She knew how much that Xaryana meant to him, for whatever reasons. They sat in silence for a while observing the ocean that they sailed as they travelled to the south of the Eastern-Kingdom. It was not long until they noticed some form of small flying creature approaching them. Trays eyes widened when he noticed the same black bird that had flown through the window prior to the incident with Roo. It was indeed Elishia. She landed on the deck near the two and morphed back into her human state, exhaling from the long journey she had flown. Sharrania and Tray helped her to her feet and instantly began to interrogate her.

"Where's Xaryana?" were the first words to escape Trays mouth. In reply she shook her head. "What? What happened to her?" He was almost shouting, attracting the attention of the other survivors from Ratchet, the majority being goblins. This was fortunate, goblins were far more excepting of seeing the Horde and Alliance mix than most other races.

"She isn't dead…Roo's got her and is taking her back to his master. I don't know if that's any better then death though…" before Tray could raise his voice any further Sharrania intervened with her own words.

"Is there anything we can do to get her back?"

"Not without knowing the location of their headquarters. I'm sorry."

"You…" said Tray, glaring at her with almost tearful eyes at the news of his lost friend, "how do we know you aren't in cahoots with them anyway, maybe your with them. We didn't see what you did in that fight, for all we know you helped that troll."

"Don't be foolish Stormcrown, I warned you of his approach and if it wasn't for me you two would probably be dead by now. Besides look-" she pulled up on of her long grey sleeves to reveal an injury. "This is where one of the sparks of electricity from his weapon his me. I tried to help your friend, but there was nothing I could do. Once she was unconscious there was no way I could take him single-handedly." They both listened to her words with quite indignation. Tray looked over at Sharrania to see if she believed the woman. Her ears had lowered; an obvious sign that she felt bad about the situation. She had only known the priestess for a short time, but they had seemed to bond in that time. "Listen you two" spoke the morphing human, "I know that you are going to want to go in search of your friend, but without any knowledge of where she is that is impossible. Your best plan of action is to get that so called 'stone' before any of them get to it."

"How do you know about the stone anyway?" inquired Sharrania, speaking in whispers as not to allow any unwanted eavesdroppers to overhear them.

"Child, I know more then just of the stone, I know everything about it, and I'm going to help you find it far more than any of your leaders could." She noticed how they both looked at her with curious eyes. "Ah, I see…you still do not trust me. I can't expect you to right away; after all we have only just met. But, it is your duty to find the artefact before any other can, for the good of Azeroth." They continued to give her their wide eyed scrutiny. "My, my, my, you know so little of this stones relevance. You really don't know why the Horde, Alliance, and Veinaart's cronies want it so desperately, but don't want anyone else to know that they want it?"

"All I know" stated Tray "is that it has some form of powerful ability. That night elf I fought back at the Stagnant Oasis told me it was like one of the items he used to protect himself, only far superior. All I need to know, however, is that the Alliance want it and it is therefore my duty to get it for them."

"True human courage, yes, but you didn't stop to consider what Sharrania's motives for getting it are? She is not going to want to hand over this vital artefact to the Alliance." Sharrania looked up as this was said, realising this to be true. The fact that she and Tray came from opposing factions meant that they would find it difficult to agree on who got the stone in the end, and there would have to be a limit on how far their friendship could go.

"She's right Tray. We can't do this together for obvious reasons, but we can't do it separately as it would make us enemies."

"Oh, do not fret" stated Elishia, "as you two will be working on this together, with a common goal…" Once more Sharrania and Tray seemed confused. This strange woman was certainly a mystery to them. "The 'stone' as we are calling it is far too powerful for either the Horde or Alliance to have. The balance between the two factions would become unstable and tensions would only rise to new, dangerous peaks. It could only result in full scale warfare between the two, far more ferocious than the whole of Azeroth has ever seen before. And as for Veinhaart and his disciples…They only want it for the same reasons: power. If he has the stone well, he will become near unstoppable. If he wasn't hard enough to get rid of now then he will be impossible to escape from once he has the power that the stone gives. Imagine the uproar that would occur within the Horde; one of its leading generals exposed as a traitor, and who has become one of the most powerful beings in all of Azeroth."

"So this stone grants its bearer some form of power?" inquired Tray, curious about the words of the morphing human.

"Something like that, Tray. That is why it must be destroyed. If anyone is granted the it's power then the entirety of Azeroth will see it's darkest of days, and may very well not pull through them."

"If you already knew all this then why did you need our help, what was so important that we had to leave Ratchet instead of fighting alongside you and Xary…"

"It is imperitive that this stone is destroyed, and I can't do this alone. I have come to the two people that can help me, namely you two. The rest of the agents set out on this quest are already dead, bar one."

"Dead? I knew some of those agents…" Tray replied, shaking his head.

"As did I on the Horde side. I had worked with many of those agents before…" announced Sharrania, reacting the same way as Tray had. "Except one though…who?"

"She is a Horde agent, known as Var'jia, a troll hunter."

"Var'jia, she's still alive!" Sharrania lit up at this news.

"You know her, then?" question Tray.

"Yeah, we go way back, just like you and Xary"

"Just like me and Xary? I didn't know you liked a bit of girl on girl action, Sharr."

"Not like that you idiot!" She blushed as he joked. _'So I thought right, him and Xaryana where an item at some point…that's why he cares so much, he probably still has feelings for her…'_ She gazed back at Tray, crossing her arms and turned her nose up at him.

"Typical blood elf, turning their noses up at everyone else" joked Tray once more, to which she stuck her tongue out at him. He knew she was far different to every other blood elf he had ever seen or heard of. She outmatched each of them in beauty and modesty.

"Excellent" said Elishia, in her posh accent, "you two already have a good bond, which will be necessary for your partnership on this mission to be a success." Sharrania moved slowly over to Tray, and whispered quietly into his ear:

"Can we trust this woman?" She was still cautious about who she put her trust in, and was never entirely comfortable around strangers.

"It doesn't sound like we have much of a choice. She has the answers to what we need to know. When we find the stone we can decide…we don't know enough to either believe or disbelieve her" replied Tray, mimicking her whisper. She peered up at him, and nodded in agreement to this.

"How time flies, my new friends…it seems we are already approaching Booty Bay. All three of them, alongside a swarm of goblins, peered out at the edges of Stranglethorn Vale as they approached the Bay, admiring the lush green flora of the landscape.

* * *

Veinhaart stood in his private room, decorated in red and gold furniture, curtains and walls. In complete contrast to the chamber he dealt business in the room seemed to shine with temptation. He stood at the far end of the room with his hands placed behind his back, his greasy black hair hanging down. The entrance to the room was guarded by his two royal grunts; Kelzagi and Grund'ra. Just in front of them knelt a distressed night elf priestess.

"You two, wait outside." Veinhaart's command was heeded and the two orcs exited the room with due speed. "So…you are friends with Tray Stormcrown. My, my, he is becoming a burden, isn't he? What's your name, girl?" She seemed reluctant at first, but after some seconds of silence she decided to answer.

"Xaryana…my name is Xaryana."

"Xaryana? Pretty name." He grinned maliciously. "Tell me Xaryana, what do the two agents you were travelling with know about the stone?"

"I would never traitor my friends, even if it means my life."

"Trust me; I have ways of making people talk. We can do things the easy way or the hard way…" He approached the disarmed elf and dragged her to her feet and towards a large mirror fixed upon one of the walls. He made her look deep into the mirror and repeated his question. "I'll ask you once more. How much do Tray Stormcrown and Sharrania Sholla know about the stone?" He did this, knowing it to be a successful interrogation technique. Alliance and Horde interrogating officers knew that people were much less likely to lie if they could see themselves. This factor mixed with his intimidating persona made him think that she may reply to his question with a truthful answer. She stood silent, but as soon as Veinhaart released his grip she swiftly spun around on her feet and successfully cast a smite onto the broad orc. Her face filled with delight, half because she thought she had slain the orc and half because she had successfully cast an offensive spell. This enjoyment was short lived since he seemed unaffected by the strike. "Did you really think that a meagre attack such as that would affect me?" he said, in a calm yet devilish tone. He shunted her up against the wall and pushed his body close to hers to stop any means of her trying to escape and also to make her even more uncomfortable. He breathed hard into her face, his strong breath filling her nostrils.

"Your one ugly mother fucker!" she said, and spat in his face, hitting his cheek. Veinhaart's expression didn't change; instead he let out his tongue and licked up the saliva that had hit his face, making the elf cringe.

"We have a lot of work to do with you, my dear…guards!" Kelzagi and Grund'ra entered the glamorous room to listen to their masters orders. "Take her to the Professor; he has something special planned for her…"

* * *

The three set foot on Booty Bay, and despite the fact it was still wood that they trod on it felt strangely better then the ships deck. They stood at the end of the dock, allowing the streams of passengers walk out on the pier and head to the main area of the Bay first. Tray glanced at Sharrania, admiring how her perfect, pink skin seemed to glow in the sunlight. As the crowd cleared it became apparent that a dwarf sized humanoid stood in front of them. His entire body was concealed in a strange suit of armour. It was brown and orange, with a helmet which exposed none of his facial features. His whole attire emitted a feeling of futurism and mystery.

"Here we go again" sighed Tray, putting one hand on his hip and the other on the hilt of his blade. "Let me guess, stumpy, you're here to try and-" Without uttering a single word the dwarf flew towards them, two small axes- the same colour as his armour- in his hands. He had no need to run, as his boots were fitted with the new goblin technology that allowed him to boost himself through the air at them.

"Goblin Rocket Boots?" announced Sharrania, whilst she evaded the strike from the dwarf who was now within striking distance of the three. Whilst Tray and Sharrania did their best to dodge the short foes strikes, Elishia stood still with her arms folded. The dwarf looked up at her, examining her face before deciding to turn his back on her and face the two who were preparing to battle him. Tray and Sharrania drew their weapons.

"Hey Tray."

"Yeah Sharr?"

"This guy doesn't have the Veinhaart insignia on is armour."

"Well if he isn't with Veinhaart then why's he trying to kill us?" Before Sharrania could even think of an answer to reply with the dwarf propelled himself once more onto the assault, whirling his axes in his hands. Both Sharrania and Tray attempted to strike him, but to no avail since he was able to deflect the blows. The mêlée continued to ensue, with blows continuously parried from both sides.

"Two on one and he's still holding his own" stated Sharrania, unleashing lightning fast attacks. The dwarf jumped back from the two, tired from the encounter, but noticed that the blood elf had withdrew a throwing knife and was about to unleash some kind of deadly throw at him. Before she could he reacted by throwing down a ball the size of a small marble, which concealed him in a cloud of smoke. Sharrania threw the knife anyway, but as the smoke cleared it was clear he had disappeared. Both Tray and she looked about themselves in confusion. "Where did this idiot go?" This confusion was cut short when they heard a ruff, muffled voice come from behind them.

"Idiot, huh? Well, the dumber people think I am the more surprised they are when I kill them…" he was clutching a blunderbuss, his axes sheathed at his side. He was a good distance away, so any attempt from them would result in being shot before they could reach him.

"Who are you? Why are you trying to ill us?" Inquired Tray, glaring at the armour covered dwarf.

"I'm a bounty-hunter... though I prefer the title 'facilitator of fatalities'…sounds much better don't it? More expectable too…There's a big price on your heads and I'm planning on claiming that gold. Sorry but business is business."

"Wait, if you kill us then-"

"Shut up" exclaimed the dwarf, interrupting Sharrania's attempt to stop him. "If there's one thing I've learnt over the years of being a bounty-hunter it's that if you let your target keep you talking they are gunna find some way of getting out of the situation. It's far smarter just to kill 'em without any chat isn't it? So, evil or not, die!" Just before he pulled the trigger Sharrania launched herself towards Tray, grabbed him, and threw down a small device similar to the dwarfs, and concealed themselves in smoke allowing them to vanish from the dwarf's vision. Their invisibility from the dwarf's eyes was not long lived, and he dropped the gun and pulled out his axes and jumped into the fading smoke. They continued to fight in close combat, until the bounty-hunter kicked Tray in the stomach with extreme force, and knocked him onto his back. This did, however, give Sharrania the opening she needed. She noticed that in his belt he carried a selection of thorium grenades and various other explosives. She lunged at them, and had just enough time to pull the pin out of one of them, unknown to the dwarf himself. With another burst of her dexterity she dropped to the floor and activated the boots of the short assailant, boosting him into the air a short distance, just over the sea at the edge of the port. He hovered there for a moment.

"Activating my boots? Did you really think that was going to save you?" he chuckled, whilst gripping one of his grenades preparing to throw it at them. He went to pull the pin, but couldn't find it. "What the?" the explosive which he held in his hand began to beep. "Impossible!" The grenade exploded in a hail of fire, smoke and blood. The remains of the dwarf fell into the ocean, all except from one of the armoured gloves that he wore, which landed at the edge of the port. The whole encounter, though loud, went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the civilians in Booty Bay as they were generally quite far from the town area of the port, and the loud chatter from the goblins who had escaped from Ratchet seemed to cover up the noise they made.

"Great…bounty-hunters are after us now? This just became a lot harder…" stated Tray, getting up from the floor. "Nice move there though Sharr, he didn't see that coming."

"Yes, most impressive, but you were both far to sloppy in that battle. If you want to succeed in this quest then you are both going to need more training. Luckily for you I can provide such training." Elishia stepped forward, arms still folded across her chest.

"You seem to have the answer to everything don't ya…" Tray continued.

"Well, somebody has to I suppose. At the moment your just a couple of desperado's, but I can help make you into much more. Come on, let's get moving, time is of the essence." All three marched down to the main area of Booty Bay, Elishia leading the way with the other two behind her.

"This lady's gunna be the death of us, Sharr…" said Tray, whispering so that the human in front of them could not hear his words. Sharrania whispered back to him.

"Well when I die, make sure they burry me upside down, so the whole of Azeroth can kiss my ass…" she joked in reply.

"Hey, I can kiss it before you die if you really want."

"Shut up" she said, hitting his arm gently. They smiled as they continued to walk, both giggling to themselves, the sun shining down on them, the smell of calmness in the air after their battle.

* * *

"Is there no one in the whole of Azeroth who will rid me of these two pests?" roared Veinhaart, throwing the orb that allowed him to view the encounter back at the professor. He rubbed his temples in order to relax himself. The two were pacing down dark, narrow corridors, followed by the two grunts a few paces behind them.

"My lord, I have begun working on our new subject." Veinhaart raised his head in interest. "Her power is weak, it will not take long to crack her and for the experiments to take effect." His snake like voice echoed through the halls. They reached an entrance, behind which was Krakens laboratory.

"Take me to her professor, I wish to see our progress…" as they entered the dank smell of death and decay hit their nostrils. Veinhaart and his bodyguards cringed slightly as the scent hit them, in contrast to Professor von Kraken simply continued unaffected. As they roamed through the strange lab a human, or what appeared to be a human, who was lying on the floor grabbed at Veinhaart's heel.

"Don't worry about him my lord; he is simply a failed experiment…I think of him more as a pet than anything else. Please, do as you will." Veinhaart picked up the thin human by the neck with one hand, until he suffocated. He dropped the pathetic corpse on the floor and motioned for his grunts to get rid of it. The professor led his master to the priestess, who was chained to a chair. Her deep purple skin had turned to a sickly, pale white, along with her usually blue hair. She looked up at the two villains that stood before her. She began to curse at them in her native Darnassian language, which they ignored.

"How much longer, Professor?"

"Not long now my lord," he replied in his usual snake like way, preparing a needle for the priestess. "Her resistance shall soon wither and die." The professor seemed excited about the prospect, his eyebrows raised over his tinted goggles. He injected her with the needle, making her shriek in pain and grit her perfectly white teeth. _'Wither and die? What are they doing to me?'_


	7. Bump in the Night

Authors notes as usual :) it's official, chapter seven is here, and it's one of the longer chapters indeed. Hope the story is going well for yah so far. Please review with what you think I can improve on, and give votes of encouragement. It goes much appreciated. Even if you don't know what to say, just give me a mark out of ten or something; even if you're not the best at typing in English either. Enjoy the new chapter :)

**Chapter 7: Bump in the Night**

Elishia stood on a large rock, looking down on her two new pupils. She threw down three sticks, two of a standard sword length, and one which was about double in size.

"Take these." They both picked up their new instruments and looked back up at their teacher, curious to what they were meant to do with their supplement weapons. Tray, cocky as he was, spoke out in defiance.

"What, your gunna teach us how to fight? Listen, there isn't anything you can teach me about using blade, it's what I do best."

"Unfortunately for you Tray there are people who can do it even better…" Tray stifled one fake laugh at the reply from Elishia, and looked back at her with cunning eyes. She shut her eyes, and cupped her hands out in front of herself, making light, mumbling noises.

"What's she doing?" inquired Sharrania, confused about the strange pose. The morphing human closed her fingers and wrapped them with her thumbs, making fists, before her eyes shot back open and she took her normal posture.

"I see…I sense within you both a good amount of power and ability, but not enough for you to repel the likes of Veinhaart and his top assassins…fortunately I can also sense immense possibility from you both. Yes…excellent. I think we can make this work after all."

"Let me get this straight," pouted Tray, cautious of the female human. "You expect us to believe you somehow…I dunno… looked inside us and found out how good we are at combat or something?" Elishia let out a giggle at the warriors' naivety. She merely continued to talk of what she was planning to do with the two rather than going into a long and drawn out explanation of what she had just done.

"To bring out the best of your abilities merely training against each other with these sticks will not be enough. There is a limit to how powerful you can become by doing that. I'm going to train you using my own methods to bring out your power. Roo, that troll, he is an immense warrior, but that is all he is; a warrior. How does he seem to be able to command thunder and lightning? He can, because he has arisen a step higher then most adventurers ever do." She jumped down to stand on the ground level where they were. "Try and hit me…"

"Uh, what?" questioned Sharrania, raising one of her long, blonde eyebrows.

"Use those sticks that you've got, and try to hit me, as hard as you can. Don't be shy." The two students looked at each other, most confused by the command. It was, however, heeded. They both simultaneously slashed at her with their wooden devices. Elishia did not appear to move, until the last second before she was hit she seemed to fade away, as if she were but a mirage. Bewildered, the two stood thunderstruck until they heard a voice come from behind them. "The first thing that you're going to have to master to obtain far greater skill is to be unpredictable and confuse your enemies."

"How the hell did you move that fast?" Tray thought aloud, eyebrows raised high and mouth ajar.

"Do not focus on that, Tray. My speed may be effective in battle, but it would have been nothing if you predicted it to happen. In short, you can show the world and his wife your amazing tricks all day, but it's the card up your sleeve that's going to throw them off balance. Now, I can train you to use some of these rare techniques but more important than learning that is to make sure that whatever you do your opponent does not expect you too.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, be unpredictable, we get it. Can we get onto the good stuff now or are ya just gunna keep tell us about-"

"Tray…" Sharrania nudged him, "Let her do the teaching."

"Thank you Miss Sholla. Lesson two is improvisation. Should surprise not be on your side, or if it is on your opponents side you're going to need to know how to deal with the situation. This can be done in several ways, though. If your prepared then certain equipment can help you, but be warned; some equipment can backfire, as we saw with that bounty-hunter. Knowing your enemies will undoubtedly aid you as well…expose their weaknesses and dilute their strengths. When things get really awkward know how to escape and put yourself back into the driving seat. Basically, know how to bring impossible situations back around."

"And…you're gunna train us for this how?" asked a fed up Tray, thinking that his methods of battle were far superior to Elishia's. The Stranglethorn sun was beginning to set, and little light was passing through the thick leaves and branches.

"I have my methods, and in the past they have worked. We shall start tomorrow at dawn, but for tonight get as much rest as possible, you will need all your energy for tomorrow. I will meet you here, don't be late." The two she was shrugged their shoulders and turned their backs, beginning their journey back to Booty Bay, they stopped about two seconds afterwards, and Tray spoke out while turning.

"I thought time was of the essence? Shouldn't we start immediately, I mean, there's still enough light to see?" This went unanswered as the mysterious woman they had befriended seemed to have disappeared without a trace, as if swallowed by the night. Tray turned back to Sharrania and continued to walk alongside her to the port town.

"Strange lady, eh?"

* * *

Veinhaart sat in his glamorous chamber which still appeared to glow even in the night. He sat in front of a small table, on top of which stood an array of figurines crafted to look like various characters. Two of them seemed to have the appearance of Tray Stormcrown and Sharrania Sholla. Behind Veinhaart stood five cloaked figures, every inch of them disguised by black hoods and robes.

"Your services have been employed as I have no assassins of a high enough calibre to complete this mission at this given time. You five, are to move with great speed and remove these two as soon as possible. There is a third who travels with them, but she is second priority. You'll get your gold when you bring me their heads, no sooner." He pushed five figurines towards the two on the small board in front of him.

"You can rely on us…anything specific you would like us to do?"

"Yes. Tell them that their little priestess friend is suffering badly." The five hired assassins walked to a balcony that led off of the room which Veinhaart regularly came to in order to observe the outsides of his keep to think. At this moment there were five flying mounts which the five climbed onto and took flight from. As they disappeared into the dark Veinhaart stood watching them from the balcony, his hands behind his back. _'If they can survive this, then perhaps I might have something to worry about after all…'_

* * *

Tray and Sharrania were deep in conversation as they continued to walk to their destination. They decided they should get to know each other better, know that their partnership really did seem like it was going to be a lasting one.

"So how about family, huh? What are they like?" asked Tray, curious to her answer. Where her family like most blood elves? He didn't think they would be, she was too different, less snobbish, so something in her upbringing must have made her that way. He thought that perhaps she had been raised in a secluded area, away from other blood elves, or perhaps her family just brought her up differently. She smiled at the question, wondering what he would make of the answer.

"Uh, well. My mother is a troll, my father is an orc, and I have a brother who is a tauren. Pretty diverse, hey?" Tray, unsurprisingly, was bewildered by what she said, but before he could ask how this was possible she answered. "Me and my brother were adopted by our parents, since they obviously couldn't have kids themselves. They raised us just as good as any parents, loved us just as much too. It's a pretty crazy household though…but we're close."

'_Well that wasn't the answer I was expecting, but it explains some stuff about her I guess.' _Tray gave a smile at the idea of this family. "Sounds nice."

"Ok hotshot, your turn, what are your family like then, huh?" Trays' expression became blank, and almost glum.

"My family are all dead." Sharrania was shocked. She had not expected that answer, just like he hadn't expected hers.

"Ow…uh, I'm sorry, I…"

"It's ok, it was a long time ago now, I was only seven when it happened."

Sharrania instantly knew from those words that Tray fought for more then just the Alliance, more than just for peace: that he fought for revenge. _'When 'it' happened?'_

"It was fifteen years ago. My parents were downstairs, whilst I was playing with my brother upstairs, he was five. Yeah, we had a good life from what I can remember; big house, happy times, everything was good. Then something happened... Alongside my fathers job he was also captain of the local militia. Word was that in some Horde raid that my fathers men went to take care of an important Horde member's brother was killed, about a week before they came to us. That important Horde guy, whoever he was, led his own raid on our small town. Of course my father and his men tried to hold them back, but they were quickly overwhelmed. He told my mother and us to stay in the house, but from our window we could see that the town was falling to the raiders. Then I saw the image that haunts me to this day…an orc who was fighting against my father dropped my father to his knees and delivered a fatal strike straight to his neck. We screamed and shouted, but of course to no avail, and moments later our own home was being consumed by the invaders. We had a secret chamber built into our house, behind a bookcase, in case of emergencies, but I was the only one able to get into the hiding spot before they entered the room and discovered by mother and baby brother. I couldn't see from inside the small hiding area, but I could hear their shrieks of pain. You'd think that remembering stuff like that wouldn't get easier, but it does…with time." Sharrania didn't know how to react; she simply walked alongside him and thought about the whole ordeal.

'_I wonder if he uses jokes to cover up his real feelings.'_ Before they knew it they had arrived back at Booty Bay, but the entrance was guarded by two goblins.

"Sorry, you can't come in…" announced one of the goblins.

"What, why?" both Tray and Sharrania asked, almost in synchrony.

"We got an investigation goin' on. Some wack-jobs caused a commotion here earlier, found some guys hand at the edge of the pier so nobody's coming in or out till morning. Sorry folks."

"Great, where are we meant to go?"

"You can go wherever you want, but you ain't comin' in. Here; we're supposed to give you these…" they handed the two a tent in which they were supposed to sleep. "Come back tomorrow." With a sigh they turned away and went in search of a clearing in which they could pitch the tent.

* * *

Five flying mounts landed in the heart of Stranglethorn, and their riders dismounted. They all pulled back their dark hoods to reveal their faces. The leader of the group appeared to be a male blood elf, with a sharp black goatee, long, coarse black hair and eyes that matched Sharrania's: shimmering green. "We'll split into groups, Gambitt and Sylvian, you two take the road to Booty Bay and see if they reached the port town yet. Renny and Toranke you two scout around from here and upwards. I'm going to take back to the sky and keep an eye out. You boys know the drill, quick and quiet. The sooner they die the sooner I…we get paid."

The blood elf clambered back onto his mount and held the reins of the creature in his hands, covered in black silk gloves. His commands went answered and the two teams split into their separate directions. Gambitt and Sylvian, the gnome and night elf, jogged with quiet steps in the direction of Booty Bay, unaware that the two agents they sought were not far away.

* * *

Tray and Sharrania had pitched their tent not far from the gates of Booty Bay. They sat inside under a couple of blankets. The tent was not of generous size, and the two were cramped together like sardines.

"Well…this is cosy" snickered Tray, looking at the blood elf.

"Could you please put some more cloths on Tray…?"

"I can't sleep in my armour, can I? Neither can you, your gunna have to take some of that gear of." She knew this too be true, she really couldn't sleep in her armour, unless she wanted the most uncomfortable nights sleep she had ever had; even worse than the two nights with Xaryana.

"You better not try anything tonight."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Sharr. Well, I might dream about it…"

"You're a real perv, have I ever told you that?"

"Nearly every day."

"Thought as much." She shuffled to her side a removed the armour she had recently purchased. She eventually was wearing nothing but a cloth shirt that she wear under her armour. It was a long shirt, unfortunately for Tray, and so he had little to look at.

'_Damn, just when I thought I was gunna see some ass. Oh well. Win some, lose some.'_ Sharrania covered her body with one of the small blankets, the bottom of her slender legs poking out of the bottom. _'Mmm, nice legs though.'_ Tray noticed that she began to shiver. "Aren't you cold like that?"

"Yeah, my feet are freezing…these blankets just aren't long enough, are they?" Tray took notice of this as she spoke. She was similar to many blood elves in the fact that she painted her nails. Her toenails were bright red, in matching with her fingernails.

"Here, this ought to help." Tray tore his blanket in half and laid one of the halves over the exposed lower legs of Sharrania's.

"You didn't have to do that you know."

"And let a lady go cold? As if I'd do a thing like that. I'm too much of a gentleman."

"Oh, you are such a charmer when you want to be aren't you Tray?"

"Better believe it babe; now hold on one sec, I gotta go pee." She laughed as he said this and watched as he rambled out of the tent in only his underwear, towel slung over his shoulders for a bit of warmth. He clambered off behind a tree a few meters away from their tent. After some time he finished urinating and turned around to head back to the tent when something made him freeze.

"Da show be ova already? C'mon, gimmie anuder flash, big boy." A female troll sat in a low tree, swinging her legs over the thick branch that she resided on. Next to her lay a dark panther with navy fur.

'_When did every Horde member suddenly speak common?'_ Tray, knowing he was unarmed, turned to inspect the troll. She was most certainly a hunter; he could tell from her pet and the armour that she sported. Her skin was light blue, in contrast to the thick red hair on her head which she had tied into various braids and a large pony tail that pointed upwards. Out of this hair came her long ears, pierced wit numerous hoped earrings and studs. Her small tusks poked slightly out of her crescent mouth which was grinning at him. One of her red eyebrows was raised above her amber eyes, giving her whole appearance a cunning feeling. She stopped swinging her feet over the branch and leant forward, putting her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. She didn't look like she was going to attack him any time soon, her weapon wasn't even drawn. Due to him being inconveniently undressed she must have seen him as unthreatening.

"Well, you sure are friendly for a troll."

"Oh, I can be mo' den jus' friendly. Yo' gotta name, sexy?" the cunning troll licked her lips as she observed the brash human who was wondering what her plans were.

"Yeah, they call me Tray."

"Well Tray" she said, in her thick island accent, "wot yo' be doin' out 'ere by yoself, half naked?"

Unaware of what the trolls' response might be to the realisation that he had a companion he decided not to say anything about her. He didn't want to get shot by one of her arrows because he unnerved her. "Well, sometimes a man just wants to be out in the great outdoors, just soaking up all the nature."

"Ah, so yo' like nature, do ya'? Well, I be real natural if yo know what I mean." Tray cringed a little as he heard those words, some nasty thoughts coming into his head. "Aha! Don' worry, mon, I ain't gunna bite ya…less yo' want me too." She threw her hand out in a clawing fashion, using her tongue behind her teeth to make a growling noise.

"You're a naughty girl then, I see," replied Tray, never giving up the opportunity for a flirt.

Her smile widened while her eyes squinted slightly, increasing the devilish expression on her face. "Yeah, really naughty, mon." She leapt off the branch and landed on her feet. She slowly approached him, and ran her fingers down his exposed chest. She was only a couple of inches taller than he was, not massive for a troll but still large. "Do yo' like naughty gals Tray?" As she got close to him Tray realised she was actually quite cute for a troll, but she didn't have a patch on Sharrania's beauty. Nonetheless, Tray was still a dog. The troll looked down Trays body down to his crotch. "Mmm, from da looks o' it ya do like naughty girls. Is dat a dagger in yo' underwear or are ya' just happy ta see me?" She clutched his groin with a laugh and a grin.

'_Man this girl is forward! And maybe a bit too ruff…' _Suddenly a noise made her ears prick and wiped the horny trolls smile off of her face. She gave a whistle for her pet and took out the bow from her back, loading an arrow and notching the string back.

* * *

Both Gambitt and Sylvian had heard some commotion coming from a nearby area. They creped up through the thick Stranglethorn foliage with silent steps and peered through the bushes to see what was making the noises. They noticed a human and a troll, getting very close and talking to each other.

"That's the human we're after, but I don't know who this troll is. It is a blood elf we are looking for right?"

"Yeah that's right. Either way we better finish these guys off. If the human's here then that elf is gunna be creeping around her somewhere."

"Ok lets watch till they are both more indisposed, so we can kill them with no problems whatsoever."

"Yeah. Hey look, I think their getting intimate!" they saw the troll grabbing the human's lower region.

"Your right, lets go." The gnome jumped to his feet from his knee and silently began to creep through the bushes, until he stepped on a large twig which made a fairly loud snapping noise. Their eyes widened as they looked back through the bushes to she the trolls ear prick. _'Shit.'_ They both drew their weapons, a sword and a dagger each, and readied themselves. Their worry was false lived, though, since the troll had aimed her bow in the opposite direction to them, and noticed that instead of them she had actually heard a blood elf who had emerged from a nearby tent.

* * *

"Sharrania? You gotta be jokin' me, mon…" said the troll, lowering her weapon and motioning for her pet to stand down.

"Var'jia, what are you doing here?" the blood elf, who had clumsily thrown on her cape and her leg armour over her shirt to see who Tray had been talking to seemed dumbstruck at the appearance of the troll.

"I should be askin' yo' da same question. What ya be doin' wid dis human?"

"And _I_ should be asking _you_ the same question." The troll let out a small giggle. "Just as I thought, you never change do you."

"I guess I don'…but I jus' couldn' resist, mon, you gots yaself a looker here, Sharr!" Sharrania blushed at these words.

"Uhm, no Var'jia, I'm not with him as such, we're just partners…" The two had been speaking in orcish for the entirety of the conversation, leaving Tray confused about what they were saying. He could only make out that the trolls name seemed to be 'Var'jia'.

"Don' be stupid girl, yo' can' let dis one get away. Take a chance." The troll stood with her hands on her hips, her smile back on her face. She always seemed to be grinning, whether it be for friendly or mischievous reasons.

"Er…" Tray stood, half naked, observed by the two. "Can I go put my cloths back on now?"

Both Tray and Sharrania were dressed in their armour now, and the three came back outside. It was still the middle of the night, but the troll had insisted that they talk. The three stood outside.

"So, yo teamed up eh? Dat not be such a bad idea. But who be deez guys afta yo all da time?"

"You know Veinhaart?"

"One o' our best war hero's n' generals, o' course. Why?"

"Yeah…it's his men."

"WHAT?"

Sharrania raised her eyebrows at Var'jia's bellow, slightly startled. "We're not joking, all these assassin's have had his insignia on their armour. The first one even admitted it."

"Veinhaart! Mon, dat be serious business. Why not jus' tell Thrall?"

"We don't have enough evidence against him yet, do you have any idea how much evidence we are going to need to get them to believe me over Veinhaart himself?"

"True…well it be seemin' like you two be in to deep. Hey! Crazy thought! Why don' I jus' help you two out? Many hands make light work n' all!" Tray and Sharrania turned too each other, Tray seemed disgruntled about the prospect of travelling with this feisty troll. Before they had chance to reply to her two ambushers pounced from the foliage, covered in dark attire and brandishing two weapons. The first strikes were parried by Sharrania and Tray, and they crossed eyes.

"Ah shit" exclaimed Tray "Will this never end?"

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So what do you want to see happen in the next chapters? Further explanation into what the stone is? More combat and battle scenes? More background into the characters? Tell me and I'll do my best to suit what you want :)


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